Ah Young Love! :D
by K9 ML7
Summary: Well, this will just be a bunch of one or two-shots about different couples. Most stories will be light and fluffy, maybe with a little angst added in just to make it interesting. You may suggest couples, but PLEASE absolutely NO Percabeth. Sorry guys, nothing personal, there's just too much of them out there. I do like the couple, but yeah. We've got to branch out! :D
1. A New Couple?

**A/N**: The first chapter quite possibly involves a new pairing- well, okay. I haven't exactly looked through _ALL_ of the fics for one with this pairing. But can you blame me? There's just WAY too many! Plus I'm lazy. Instead, I simply put this couple through the filter, and I came up with nothing. So, this may be the first one with this couple in mind. The same goes for a few other pairings that may appear.

*******But if I'm wrong please tell me!**

**WARNING**: There will be Guy/Guy and Girl/Girl relationships in a lot of stories, so if you don't like that, then don't read it. You _have_ been warned after all.

By the way, these stories won't be connected to each other at all, unless I give you a heads up. :) Enjoy!

Anyway on with the actual story now-

**Connor's POV**

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, there was a warm breeze, kids were training happily, it was all so... perfect. But that didn't mean much to me at the moment. Why? What _did_ matter, was the fact that it was a perfect time to pull an awesome prank! There was, however, an issue. I put everything my brother and I needed away. Why you may ask? Why did I put everything away when I had it all out and ready to go? Well, there's a simple answer to that. I _didn't_ have everything. There was one very important factor that didn't show up. My idiot twin brother Travis.

I sighed in my hiding spot under a large oak tree where I was suppose to wait for him to come. He never showed. I've always dreaded this day. I hoped it would never come. I had just gotten proved wrong. But maybe... maybe I should have seen it coming. After all, we actually have been growing apart ever since, well. Ever since Travis and Katie got together. Yeah, he somehow had actually managed to get Katie to go on a date with him. It only went uphill from there. Well, uphill for _them_. Me on the other hand, that was a different story.

Have I tried asking girls out? Sure. You could say that. Did I ever succeed? I should remind you that I'm sitting here, under an oak tree, upset about my brother, _alone_. You see, the thing is, I've always had this, _problem_, when it came to asking girls out. Sadly I was one of those people that somehow _always_, and yes, I do mean always, humiliated themselves every time. Eventually I kind of, gave up. For now anyway. So basically, I blocked the passageway to my heart from girls. I leaned back against the tree, sighed, and closed my eyes. I had to clear my head from those thoughts.

Silently, I pushed all of my sad feelings away. Again, why? Travis was my identical twin. I decided that if I told him how I felt, then I'd be guilt tripping him into hanging out with me more instead of Katie. I couldn't do that to them. Travis is my brother, and Katie is my best girl friend. I didn't want to lose her just because I felt lonely. So this left me with one question. Now what?

When I said that Katie was my best girl friend, I meant that she was kind of my only one. Sure, I was friendly with people, but we were exactly what you would call friends. We were probably more like, acquaintances. Travis of course, was my absolute best friend. When he and Katie went on their first dates, that was when I realized just how friendless I really was. It hurt at the time, but I got use to it. Sort of. I opened my eyes and looked at the scenes in front of me. No one knew I was there, but then again, if they did, no one glanced over or said anything. So, I just figured they didn't know. I looked around and tried to figure out what to do. I couldn't just sit here and drown in my "sorrow."

To my right, I saw Percy, Nico, Annabeth, and Luke all sitting at a table eating what looked to be Mexican food? I wasn't sure, but to me, it actually looked like they were on a double date. Annabeth and Luke were together, and Percy and Nico were together. The small kid had managed to get Percy to confess first. I'm still not sure how. But, considering that's what it looked like, that idea went out the window. Just left of them, I noticed Hazel and Clarisse sword fighting with a crowd surrounding them. Probably some kind of bet. I sighed again. I didn't feel like getting into that. Not without Travis.

To the left of crowd, I saw Leo, Reyna, Piper and Jason Grace sitting in the shade of a large tree next to the lake. I thought about going over there, but then I remembered who was _with_ someone in that group. Leo had somehow gotten Reyna's attention, and they had begun dating. Jason and Piper, well, everyone knew about them. Damn it! It looked like a double date too! Why didn't they just team up with the other four and go as a group! They could pick up Travis and Katie along the way then. I sighed out of frustration, and turned my gaze away from Jason and them to the ground. I could have sworn that I saw Jason look over, but I shrugged it off as just my imagination.

I closed my eyes again. I was starting to feel angry, and the moment I do, Travis comes and asks questions. Yeah, I know he's just trying to be a brother, but sometimes, I just want to keep things to myself. Sometimes it's better that way. Or at least, that's what I keep telling myself. It may be a shock, but I'm not very good at talking about my feelings. Hence the reason I don't have a girlfriend. I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on my arms. I kept my eyes on the ground. I couldn't look at anyone. I was surrounded by couples and best friends. It was just hard. If I looked, I would just start to feel upset again, and Travis would come running. That's the thing about being a twin. You're not suppose to be alone.

"Hey, what are you doing here alone? In a bush?" asked a voice. I nearly jumped up and brought my weapon of choice out. The guy scared the crap out of me! But I remained seated where I was, and looked up to see, Jason? I guess it wasn't just my imagination then. Then I remembered that he asked me a question. So I blurted out something oh so _very_ intelligent.

"Uh..." Yeah real smooth Connor.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Hey Connor aren't you usually with Travis and Katie? I almost never see you guys apart." he paused as if he were wondering whether or not he should continue. He did. "How come you're here by yourself?" he finished. I really didn't want to answer that. Jason sat down so that we were eye to eye. But then, he was Jason. He probably thought I wasn't speaking because it seemed as though he was interrogating me. Really the main reason I wasn't speaking was because I didn't want to feel. I didn't want Travis coming and ending his time with Katie, or worse, he could bring her along.

"Connor?" said Jason. He gave me a confused look. Crap, I forgot he was still there. And I was staring at him. Unintentionally, yeah, but what was Jason thinking? Wait. What? I desperately tried to hide the blush that was making itself known.

Why was he even talking to me? We've barely said anything to each other since he got here. (The Roman demigods were spending a about a week or two here just for fun.) But that wasn't the topic at the moment. The topic was me being here alone, staring at Jason who was asking that very question. What was I suppose to say? We barely knew each other, so I wasn't about to spill my problems to him. Oh gods my siblings would kill me for not coming up with a clever lie like Hermes kids would usually do. Suddenly Jason gave me a sympathetic look. That was weird.

"Hey, look, I understand if you don't wanna talk. I was just going to ask if you wanted to hang out with us." he said.

"Uh, I'm fine, really. But uh, thanks." I managed to say. I don't know why I trusted my voice, but it was surprisingly fine. I still wish I came up with some intelligent lie. Yeah, that never happened. Jason smiled and... laughed? Huh. His laugh was more bubbly that I thought it would be. It had a.. nice sound to it. Wait. What? I felt the blush on my face deepen, and I was even more desperate to hide it. "No offense Connor, but for a while there you looked like a lost puppy." he said playfully. It was then I realized that he said my name. Usually no one could tell Travis and I apart. I never knew how Jason could do it, but he was always able to tell which one I was. I've never realized it before that moment.

"Connor?" I blinked after realizing that I was staring again. What was wrong with me? It was just Jason. But then again, he was trying to confront me about my feelings. Well, okay, he was probably doing it unintentionally. That was just his personality. "You know, Piper and I broke up a while back, so you wouldn't be any fifth wheel or anything." said Jason. They broke up? Huh. I must have been busy with Travis and a prank at the time. Wait, why did I care? I wasn't exactly best friends with either of them. Gods what the Hades was wrong with me?

"So?" said Jason. He was looking at me in an odd way. I wasn't sure how to describe it. "You know... if... if this is about Travis and Katie, you can uh, always come to me and talk about it. It's not healthy to keep things bottled up." he said as if he were reading my mind. I suddenly got defensive. I didn't mean to be, I just wasn't big on talking about my feelings. "I'm fine really!" I blurted. Yeah my siblings would definitely kill me for not creating a better lie. Jason sighed and leaned back against the tree he was sitting under. "Connor, I know it's hard, but keeping things in isn't the best way to go about it. You've got to talk to _someone_. I know we're not exactly best friends or anything, but it wouldn't hurt trying." he said. I could tell he was getting frustrated with me, but he was doing a good job of staying calm. I guess that was a part of his nature.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I wasn't sure how long exactly, but it became long enough for Jason. "So, do you want to talk about it?" he asked. His voice wasn't demanding, or aggressive. It was quite quiet and calm. It was... soothing. Oh gods. Why am I thinking like this? I was pretty sure my face was the colour of a strawberry at this point. I realized that I hadn't looked away from Jason the entire time as well. I couldn't exactly tell what Jason was thinking, but he grinned and glanced down at his hands. He then stands up.

"Well, whenever you want to talk or hang out, I'll be there." he said. Then he did something strange, and a bit unnerving.

He winked at me.

I felt my face heat up quickly as he smiled and walked off back towards his friends. I was just left with one question.

What in the Hades just happened? And why did my face feel like it was going to melt away into a puddle? Okay, that was technically two questions, but whatever. I watched him sit down with his friends. After a few seconds, I had calmed down, and I was thankful for it.

I noticed that most of the campers had left for lunch. I suddenly didn't feel so hungry. Jason and the other began to get up for lunch. Just as they started walking away, Jason trailed behind them. He looked back at me, and smiled widely. I immediately felt the blush reappear. Jason's smile grew bigger, and he turned to catch up with the others. I wrapped my arms around my stomach to keep it from fluttering about. Seriously, I was beginning to feel sick.

I tried not to think about it. I just wanted to feel normal again. I sighed and buried my head in my arms. I remembered someone saying that feelings can make you tired. They were right.

**Jason's POV**

It had been a couple of days after I had talked with Connor. We haven't said much to each other since then. Well, nothing with _words_ anyway. Over time, even though we didn't really talk, I had become quite fond of the twins. Particularly Connor. I don't really know why, but it happened. After a while, Piper broke up with me. She wasn't sad, and neither was I. It was just time. We were still friends though. And after that, I had grown even more fond of Connor. Then I realized what was really going on.

I had a crush on him. I was bisexual, apparently. When I look at Piper, I know that she knows it, considering that she's Aphrodite's daughter. She probably sensed my feelings for Connor when they first appeared. I know she wants me to tell her, but I wasn't ready. I've never said it out loud before. I know the camp is fine with it, considering Percy and Nico, but, I still held back. Of course there was also the issue of whether or not Connor liked guys like that. But, after I talked to him that one time, I just had this feeling that maybe... he just didn't realize it. Hey, and if there was a chance, I'd take it! Connor was a catch, and he could use someone in his life.

I know he feels lonely sometimes, but he doesn't ever seem to want to admit it. I had a feeling that he was slightly jealous of Katie, and I don't blame him. Before her, it was just him and Travis. No one could part them. I want to help, but he shuts me out every time I ask.

At the moment, I was sword training with Percy. It was actually all part of a bet that Travis came up with. And surprisingly, or not surprisingly, (I wasn't sure which,) I think Connor picked me. Well, I didn't hear him say it, but the way he kept looking at me, made it somewhat clear. How did I know he was looking at me, and not both of us? His eyes never followed Percy at all. Nope, they were always on me. Not that I don't like it. This wasn't actually the first time I caught him staring at me. There have been a few occasions before, that went unseen by anyone else. He would be unknowingly staring, I'd catch him, I'd smile and wink, and he'd begin to blush and look away. It was cute! I'm pretty sure he had no clue what was happening though. I was just trying to help him out.

But considering I was in the middle of a sword match with Percy, I couldn't exactly look back at Connor. Eventually our battle ended, with _muah_ being the winner! The kids who bet on Percy sighed in defeat, and handed the opposition team their money. Once everyone wasn't looking at me, I glanced over at Connor, who yes, was still staring. I quickly winked and smiled at him. As usual, he blinked out of his stupor, and a light shade of pink appeared on his face as he looked away. I have to hand it to him, he's gotten better at controlling it. One could just barely tell he was blushing. I only know because I've done it a few times before. I almost wish he hadn't gotten control of it. He just looked adorable when his face was bright red!

I shook hands with Percy and walked over to the twins. Travis looked very down. I guess he bet against Connor. Bad idea. "So, Travis, looks like you owe Connor some money?" I said playfully. Travis sighed, and Connor tried to hide his blush. But he smiled as well. Travis handed him the money. "So, you guys have any plans?" I asked.

"Katie and I were just about to uh, hang out. Oh hey, there she is. Katie!" called Travis. With that, he was gone. He left Connor just like that. I know he probably didn't mean to though. Katie was practically his first girlfriend, and he was probably just caught up in the love. Connor looked a bit shocked and down, but he tried to hide it. "Uh, Connor?" I said. I didn't know if I should ask or not. It was a touchy subject, and I didn't want Connor to shut me out and be alone. He _had_ to talk to someone about this. He'd drive himself crazy if he kept things bottled up. He probably had to work extra hard to keep things from Travis, considering they were twins.

"Uh, I-I'm fine Jason. Don't worry about it." he stuttered. It was a total lie, and we both knew it. He was never going to admit it though. At least, not here, out in the open. Maybe if we were more alone he would be able to talk. "If you want we could go somewhere quieter-"

"I said it's fine!" he snapped. I know he didn't mean it. For me, Connor was an open book whether he knew it or not. Before I could say anything, he left. I sighed. I needed help with this. I needed advice. There was only one, well, okay two if you count Chiron, but I wasn't going to go to him. I needed Piper. I left the area to go find her.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Piper asked. We walked along the forest trail. It was a nice warm evening, and everyone else was training and whatnot.

"I uh, I need advice." I said. Piper smiled as if she knew what I was going to say. Awe heck, she probably did. "About what?" she asked. I took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Okay, um, have you noticed anything weird about the Stoll twins lately?" I asked. Alright, I didn't say straight up, but she understood. She grinned. "Other than Travis finally winning Katie's heart?" she asked. I chuckled.

"Sort of. I mean, I think Connor's feeling left out. You know, I never really see him with anyone else other than those two. I've tried talking to him, but he just shuts me out." I explained. Piper looked down, and nodded.

"I've noticed that too. But uh, Jason? Are you sure there isn't another reason you want to be friends with him?" she asked. I looked away from her. Before I could stop it, I blushed. I sighed. It was time. She had to hear it from me. She was obviously waiting for this. "O-okay. Um, I-I like him. L-like in _that_ way." I said. I let go of the breath I was apparently holding. Piper squealed with delight. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" she squealed, while hopping up and down like a little kid. "You've got a crush on him!" Man, she was like a mother! It was annoying, yet amusing at the same time. I chuckled, while still blushing. "Piper-"

She calmed down. "Sorry. But you asked for that, you know how I get. Now for that advice. Hm. I would say give it time. Let him come to you when he's ready. You can still befriend him, just leave his feelings alone for the time being. Okay?" she said. I sighed.

"Okay. And thanks, I needed this." I said. Piper smiled.

"Hey, I'm always here. It's no problem." she said. She paused. "Soooooooooo?" she asked. I sighed again.

"Please don't ask."

"I'm asking. What do you like about him?" I sighed. There was no getting out of this one. When Piper wanted to know something, she got what she wanted. "Well, aside from the fact he's bottling up his feelings, everything really. From his looks, to his personality." I said, smiling. Piper squealed again. Gods this girl was so motherly. But I now knew what to do about my situation thanks to her. If I had to wait, then I would.

**Connor's POV**

I slowly made my way down to the tables for breakfast. Not that I wanted to eat though. I wasn't very hungry. But I didn't want my brother, (and the rest of my siblings,) to be suspicious, so I made myself eat. It was a horrible feeling, but I tried not to feel it. It's been four days since Jason and I talked about it. But my brother and his girlfriend wasn't the reason I felt sick. It was _him_. Grace. That idiot Jason Grace. I didn't know why, but he just made me sick to my stomach! I could feel my face heat up and I tried to hide it. Man, I didn't want to risk seeing him at breakfast. It was bad enough that I felt like throwing up, but I knew I had to eat, otherwise, questions would be hurtling towards me like bullets. I couldn't explain this. I didn't even _want_ to explain it.

The moment I got to the tables, I regretted my decision. I didn't see Travis anywhere in sight. He said he'd meet me here, but of course, he didn't. Again. I felt someone looking at me, and eventually my eyes landed on Jason. He was giving me a concerned look, but it went unnoticed by everyone. Ugh. Can't the guy give me a break? Ignoring Jason, reluctantly, I got myself a plate of food and sat down at Hermes' table. "Oh hey Connor, Travis told me to tell you to meet him at the stables." said Luke. The stables? Why there? "Okay thanks." I replied. Luke nodded and went back to his boat load of food. After I ate, with a sick stomach I walked over to the stables.

I looked around for any sign of my brother, but found nothing. I sat down on a bundle of hay to wait for him. I waited, and waited, and waited. He never came. Again. _"Damn it Travis!"_ I thought. Of course, I didn't send it telepathically to him. He was probably out with Katie again. I recalled not seeing her at breakfast either. I sighed. I closed my eyes and tried not to feel anything.

"There you are, man I've been looking everywhere for you!" said a voice. _His_ voice. I started to feel weird again. What the heck was wrong with me? I opened my eyes and looked at Jason. If he was still concerned, he didn't mention it. "So, the guys and I were going to go to this new training session with Mr. D, I was wondering if you wanted to come." he said. At first I didn't say anything. I think that made Jason feel awkward. He ran a hand through his blond hair. "Uh, I was just asking because it seemed as though you weren't busy. But uh, if- if you are, I understand." he said. His face became a light shade of pink as he smiled shyly. It made him look kind of- cute. Wait. What? In no time I felt my own blush appear. The butterflies in my stomach transformed into flying horses. Gods what was wrong with me? Did- did I really just think that Jason Grace was... _cute?_

"U-uh, I'm not really b-busy, but uh, I-I don't think um..." Oh gods I heard my voice crack a number of times. That only made me blush more. Was I hiding it? I tried to, but I'm not sure if I was doing a great job of it. Jason smiled. I could feel my heart skip a beat. _"Stop it Stoll! Stop feeling!"_ I thought.

"It's okay. I understand. But it doesn't start until four, so, you have time to think it over in case you do want to go." said Jason. I nodded, as of that moment I did _not_ trust my voice at all. Then Jason smiled, nodded, and- _winked_ at me again. He soon left to find his friends, leaving me, blushing, nervous and alone. Again. What was happening? I Connor Stoll, did _not_ like guys like that! I Connor Stoll absolutely did NOT have a stupid crush on Jason Grace! There's NO WAY!

Or so I kept telling myself.

A couple of days later, Travis and I, yeah, I had actually been able to spend some time with him! Anyway, he and I were in the middle of preparing for our next prank. At the moment the two of us were hiding in a tree. "Okay, so when I give the signal, I'll be over there by the fountain," Travis pointed to what he was talking about. "And you'll be-" Oddly enough, my mind went else where as I kept staring at the spot. That spot actually being Jason. He was with Luke and Hazel. Travis was still explaining his plan, and I was staring at Jason. I knew how this would end, but I couldn't stop. He just looked like he was... glowing. Yesterday I _finally_ admitted to myself that I had a crush on him. Not that I said it to anyone else though.

**Travis' POV**

"And then the purple streamers will wrap around-" I paused as I looked at my twin. I smirked as he followed Connor's gaze down towards a certain blond demigod by the fountain. I _knew_ something was up with Connor! I _knew_ there was a reason behind his anger and fear! I _knew_ there was a reason Jason was trying to be all friendly towards him. Now I've figured it out. I remembered the fact that Connor had locked up his heart from the girls. But he missed one important factor. It didn't stop the guys, did it? I decided to take this chance to confront my brother before it disappeared.

"You know if you want to keep your crush on Jason a secret, then I'd stop staring at him if I were you." I said playfully. Connor blinked and started blushing like an idiot. He kept glancing from me to Jason. "U-uh, I-I uh-" he stuttered. I sighed on the inside. Connor was never good at confronting his feelings. "Connor, I'm okay with it. You don't have to be afraid." I said. Connor looked at me. I couldn't tell if he was relieved, or otherwise. I wish he would just relax when it came to this kind of thing. "You're... you're okay with it?" said Connor.

"Of course I am! Dude I'm your brother, your _twin_ brother. I'm not gonna leave you! Besides, I kind of figured it out when you shut out girls..." I mumbled that last sentence. Connor stared at me.

"You, you what?" he asked. Now came the part where I had to explain it. I didn't exactly know how to approach it. "Uh, well, I mean, I've known you were gay since then you shut girls out. I just know from the way you've been acting, and feeling. You may be good at hiding your feelings from time to time, but some things can't escape me. Being your twin and all." I said. A look of realization comes across Connor. He slumped back against the tree, and looked down at Jason. There was one other thing I had to discuss with him. I drew in a deep breath. Connor glanced at me, but kept his eyes on Jason as if it were calming him. Heck, it probably was.

"I-I also know about your feelings towards Katie and I." I said. Connor pulled his legs in closer to him, but keeps staring at Jason. "I've come to realize that I've sort of- ditched you this past week. I'm so sorry Connor. I should have been there for you. When I told Luke to tell you to meet me at the stables, I really was going to show up! But I got held back by Chiron who was giving me a lecture, and I couldn't get away. I'm sorry! I'm sorry for putting you through all of that!" I said. I hadn't realized that I said it all in one breath. At this point in time, Connor stared at me. He looked mostly shocked. I didn't blame him. I would be too if it were the other way around.

"It-it's okay. I needed to hear that. Um, thanks." said Connor. He looked as though a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. "And you know you can tell me anything, right?" I asked. Connor smiled and nodded. "Good." I said. Connor went back to looking at Jason. I smirked, and glanced at the blond kid. "Sooooooo..." I said. Connor sighed.

"Please don't ask." he said.

"I'm asking. Are you going to tell him?" I asked. Connor smiled and rolled his eyes.

"I- I don't know."

"You know, considering the way he's been flirting with you, I don't think you have anything to worry about this time."

Connor stared at me. "What?" he asked. I gave him a look. Did he really have no clue? "Seriously? I've seen him flirt with you this entire week. Please tell me you've noticed." I said. Connor's face turned a light shade pink. Gods, was that how I looked when I blushed? "Well, I've considered that, but, well..." he said quietly.

Then a thought came to me. Connor must have just scared himself into thinking that Jason was just straight. Man, did I ever feel guilty. "Hey Connor, I meant it when I said you don't have anything to be scared of. I'm pretty sure Grace would go for it if you asked." I said calmly. Connor glanced at me.

"He's got a first name you know." was the reply. I snorted.

"Wow. Okay, sorry. Didn't mean to offend your boyfriend." Connor smiled.

"He's not my-"

"Yet." I interrupted. Connor's smile became bigger. But as soon as it appeared, it disappeared. "What if, what if it's just a ploy to humiliate me?" he said. His voice trembled with slight fear. I grew serious. "Hey, if it is, we'll make him regret every decision. We'll get him back." I said. "Now, let's get back to the prank."

**Connor's POV**

That night I had one of the best sleeps of my life. I can't say that the dream was very good, but I slept well. It sounds weird, yeah, but that's life I guess. The point is, after Travis and I talked, I felt so much better. I guess my original plan wasn't the best, so the moral of the story is, don't do what I did. It only brought trouble. Oh, and always accept a new friend. That's something I finally did with Jason. Currently, we were hanging out with him, while half watching the people on the climbing wall. But to my luck, Travis had quietly made the point of making me sit beside Jason.

Whenever Jason moved to a new position, he'd bump me and I'd start to feel all tingly. Then Travis would feel what I'm feeling, and smirk the entire time. Gods, I hated it, and liked it at the same time! Stupid Travis.

"_Hey, I'm right here."_ came his voice.

"_Oh shut up, and stop invading my mind. You're just as bad as Aphrodite."_ was my reply. I could just _feel_ him smirking. I didn't dare glance at him. After that, the rest of the day was fine. Well, until after lunch that is.

"Hurry up Connor!" said Travis. I walked faster to keep up. The guy was practically running for gods sake. We were apparently for a meeting with Luke, and the rest of the cabin. No one told me, so I didn't know to tell Travis. We ran towards our cabin. Breathlessly, I knocked on the door, and we walked in. I gave Travis a confused look.

There was no one there.

**Jason's POV**

I helped Percy up after our sword battle. I had just won in a bet again. This time the only people who were betting, were Percy, Nico, Piper, Annabeth, Leo, and myself. "Man, that's not fair. Percy was obviously distracted, maybe next time Grace battle with a shirt _on_." said Leo. He just made a bet on Percy. But it's not like Percy's glances went unnoticed. Not that I minded. Leo's comment made both Percy and I blush. Percy glanced at Nico, who looked a little miffed. "Oh come on, don't even think like that Nico, you were doing the same thing." said Leo. That just made us blush more. The girls looked very amused at the situation. Piper smiled at me. She probably knew that I didn't mind being looked at.

I caught Annabeth looking at Piper in a _different_ way, but I didn't comment. I couldn't help but notice the blush appearing on her face when Piper smiled. Hm... I wondered what was happening there. Piper's smile became wider. I decided to do some questioning later on.

It was at that moment, Luke came over. "Hey guys, Jason, come with me." he said. With that, he draped an arm around my shoulders, (again, I didn't mind,) and led me towards the cabin area. What was this about? "Uh, Luke, you mind telling me what's happening?" I asked. Although, considering he was a son of Hermes, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. What if I was being led to a trap? "Sorry, it's confidential. But no need to worry about anything my friend! You'll be fine!" said Luke. What the heck?

**Connor's POV**

"Uh, Travis, what's-" Before I could finish, the door opened. Luke pushed my crush inside, and Travis instantly ran out. Crap. I should have known. But I couldn't come up with any revenge plan, as I was only thinking about one thing. _Jason Grace was shirtless and alone with _me_._ My face felt like it was on fire! It started to feel really hot in the room. Damn it Travis!

"_What? I thought you'd like him shirtless."_ Travis thought to me. Ugh. That guy. I must have sighed out loud because Jason turned around. _"Travis you IDIOT!"_ A snicker was my only reply. Oh gods, Jason turned around! If my face wasn't on fire before, it was now. I felt like I couldn't breathe! I needed air. I felt so light headed that if Jason hadn't started speaking, I would have passed out right then and there. "Uh, Connor? Are you okay? Maybe you should sit down. Here." said Jason. He then proceeded to guide me (by the hand,) to _my_ bed, and we sat down. Gods Travis, why?

"So. Do you know why I'm here?" asked Jason. I shook my head no. Technically, I didn't know at first. But then the realization struck me. I knew what Travis and Luke had in mind. I just hoped that Travis was right about Jason.

"Hm. I have to say though, I'm glad it's not a prank." said Jason. He smiled, and my heart skipped a beat. Obviously he noticed me staring. Again. I couldn't help it! He smiled and- was he _blushing?_ "So, Connor, do you like what you see?" he asked. My face probably would have made a tomato jealous, and I gave such a brilliant answer.

"Um..." like I said, brilliant.

Jason smiled again. "Cause I do." he said. Wait. What? Was- was Travis right about him? _ "Ugh, dude just go for it!"_

"_Shut up Travis!"_

"_Okay."_

Suddenly Jason leaned in closer. Our faces were just an inch apart. Then he took my hand, and closed the gap. Only one word rang through my head as we continued to kiss.

"_Finally!"_

"_Seriously Travis, get lost."_

"_Okay."_

**A/N**: Yay it's done! Well, how was it?

R & R please! :D


	2. Well This is New

**A/N**: This may be another new pairing. Hadn't found one in the filter, so if there's one floating around please let me know! :) I'd love to read it! Along with any other pairings that don't show up in the filter.

**Note that Clarisse and Chris are not together, sorry guys!**

Enjoy!

**Clarisse's POV**

It seemed like any other day. Clarisse La Rue walked across the training grounds and headed over to the sparring section. The demigods were doing their usual thing that day. There was no quest announced so everyone was relaxing and having fun. As she walked, Clarisse spotted Percy Jackson with Annabeth Chase sitting under a tree near the lake. Percy had said something funny and made Annabeth laugh. Clarisse scoffed quietly and rolled her eyes.

She hated Annabeth. Not to mention Percy- or Prissy as she liked to call him. She could hear Annabeth's stupid laugh from a mile away. The way that she and fish boy were always together made her sick. Couldn't they get a room? Seriously. It was disgusting. Especially when they openly kissed. Clarisse nearly vomited at the thought. She decided to clear her mind by beating other campers at capture the flag that afternoon.

Clarisse changed into her game outfit and armour, and headed out to the starting point. Almost every cabin was there, except for those campers that didn't like to fight that much. They helped out the healers of the camp when they got wounded. To her right, out of the corner of her eye she saw Prissy, Annabeth, and Nico in blue and ready for battle. Prissy and Nico though, looked as if they were thinking about something else. They had that far off look, but made it look like they were paying attention to what Chiron was saying. Annabeth also looked like she was staring into space, but she was obviously thinking about their strategy for the game. That was just like her. When it came to strategies or architecture, she was completely focussed unlike the two boys on either side of her.

Soon the game began, and it was on. There was no way that Clarisse was going to let Annabeth's team win. Not this time. They _always_ won. It annoyed her to no end! They had the perfect plan this time. Some of the other teammates on her side were going to distract the guards of the blue flag while she ran in to get it. They had to be on the look out for anything suspicious. Clarisse made her way through the thick forest area of the camp. So far, no one of the blue team had shown up. That was good. She was almost forty feet away from their flag.

"Going somewhere?" said a voice. Clarisse stopped. Annabeth. Of course this would happen. Just as soon as she got close enough. Clarisse resisted a groan. But, she decided to play with the blonde girl behind her. She turned around to face her. "Nowhere in particular." Clarisse said casually. The daughter of Athena didn't do anything. Clarisse leaned against her electric spear as if nothing were going to happen. Of course she knew a battle would eventually take place. She was ready for anything. If a battle was going to happen, let it be. Annabeth finally scoffed.

"Oh really. So what were you doing?" she asked. So, she decided to play too huh? Interesting. Let's see how this will turn out. "I was just walking, looking for a battle. Nothing in particular." said Clarisse. She smirked. It was fun seeing the blonde try to work out what she was playing at. "Yeah, just forty feet away from our flag." Annabeth said sarcastically. Clarisse stared at her. She didn't expect her to flat out say something like that. But, she kept her cool. "Really? Forty feet? Is that so. What are the odds huh Chase?" she said. She glanced back as if she were looking for the flag, then turned back to Annabeth.

"Yeah. What _are_ the odds?" repeated Annabeth. There was a pause where neither of us did anything. We just stared at each other, daring the other to make the first move. Then Annabeth made the first move.

The girl shot her sword at Clarisse, but she blocked it with her spear. It was on. Clarisse spun around and took a shot at Annabeth, but she ducked out of the way. Instead, she tried to get her from behind, but Clarisse saw it coming. She blocked Annabeth's sword again, and tried to kick her feet out from under her. Annabeth jumped up, and kicked her in the stomach, sending her backwards into a tree. Clarisse growled and got ready. "Rotten brat." she spat. Clarisse finally tripped up Annabeth and sent her falling into a near by stream. But the girl shot up, albeit, soaked to the bone. Clarisse frowned at the fact she didn't stay down. However, she figured that's the good thing about the ADHD. It kept you going.

Annabeth got into a fighting stance, and wiped some wet hair out of her eyes. Her grey eyes stared into Clarisse's with fire. The two girls kept fighting and dodging. _"Gods this idiot won't stay down! Ugh. She may be hot but it's not like she's an Ares child! We're born warriors and-"_ Whoa. Wait. Hold up. Did... did she really just think that Annabeth, a girl she's despised ever since they met- was _hot?_ Where did THAT come from? Suddenly Clarisse's heart beat sped up like crazy. _"What the heck? What's wrong with me?"_ she thought. Noticing that she was momentarily distracted, Annabeth grabbed her spear and pinned her against a tree.

Clarisse didn't know what had just happened. Their battle had just ended. Clarisse stared at Annabeth at a loss of what to do. She couldn't help but notice the way the sun bounced off her wet hair. If it were possible, her heart beat sped up even more. What was with her? This didn't normally happen when she was around Annabeth. Or anyone else for that matter. Was she sick? Or getting sick? She was starting to feel a bit hot...

**Annabeth's POV**

Annabeth's fierce expression changed to a confused one. Why was Clarisse staring at her? Wait. Why was she staring back? She saw Clarisse's eyes widen a bit, and her face became a little red. Why didn't either of them move? Clarisse could have simply pushed her out of the way, and it would be over. But she didn't. She just stared at her with her gorgeous brown eyes.

Wait. Gorgeous? That was new. She thought she wasn't a fan of brown eyes, and thought she favoured blue-green eyes like Percy's. Annabeth watched Clarisse as her face became a darker shade of red. Was she getting sick or something? If so, Annabeth didn't want to catch it. Of course, it could have just been from the battle. But that didn't sound like Clarisse, the daughter of Ares, God of War. Annabeth stared into her eyes as some strands of her brown hair fell out of her ponytail. They were so close. Just inches apart. Any closer and they would be kissing-

Annabeth felt her own face become red as she realized what she had just thought and what she was doing. She had leaned in a little, and Clarisse had become even more red if that were possible. But still, neither of them moved. Neither of them said anything. How long has it been? She didn't know. She just knows that it's been too long.

Suddenly the sound of a horn went off ending the game. The two girls gasped and looked around. Had anyone seen them? They tried to act nonchalant about the situation. Annabeth cleared her throat, her mouth had become dry suddenly. She backed away from Clarisse and she started to breath again. _"I don't even know when I stopped."_ she thought. She handed Clarisse her spear, and she took it. Their fingers brushed against each other and Annabeth's heart beat went crazy. What was that about? She tried to regain her posture

"Um, I guess the game is over now. W-we should head back." she said. Clarisse nodded as Annabeth started to walk towards the houses. "Uh, yeah. Yeah. Y-you go ahead. I'll catch up." she said. Annabeth nodded and walked on, without realizing that Clarisse was still staring at her.

**Percy's POV**

While the Clarisse and Annabeth were battling it out, Percy and Nico were scouting the perimeters of their boundaries. So far, they've been pretty quiet. No red team members had passed by. Every once in a while, Percy found himself glancing at the boy next to him. Sure he's usually quiet, but he hasn't said a word since the game started. Yeah, sure, they technically should be "in hiding" and such, but normally they would end up having a conversation about something random. That's just how it went. All in all Nico seemed distracted.

"What?" said Nico, finally breaking his silent streak.

"You've just been quiet." said Percy. Nico snorted while smirking, and Percy couldn't help but smile.

"I'm always quiet if you hadn't noticed."

"You know what I mean."

Nico got tense as he tried to hide under a mask like he usually did. Percy didn't like that. He wished for once that Nico would be more open, but he supposed it was hard being the son of Hades. The guy probably barely ever felt like he had a home, considering that his father wasn't very "father-like." There was also the fact that some kids at camp were spreading rumours about him. "I'm fine, don't worry." said Nico. He was lying, Percy could tell. Nico's life wasn't the best, and he hasn't been "fine" since they got him out of the Lotus. Nico suddenly sighed.

"What?" he said harshly. It was probably harsher then he meant it to be. That happened to Percy far too often. "You know what. What's up?" said Percy. He wanted to know what was on Nico's mind. He wouldn't be _this_ quiet if everything were fine. "Nothing." was the reply. Another lie. Nico was a better liar than that. He was practically a master. So, why was he doing it wrong? "You can tell me. Now what's up?" Percy asked again.

"Just leave it alone Percy, it's nothing."

Percy narrowed his eyes. That flat out told him something was definitely up with him. Nico clearly didn't want to talk about it, but Percy wanted to know. He wanted to help.

Quickly Percy checked out their surroundings, remembering that their suppose to be on look-out duty. Nothing. That was good. That left him more time to pester Nico. He didn't know why this was bothering him so much, but it was. "Nico, you can trust me." he said in a softer tone. At this, Nico finally glanced at him, but didn't say anything. It was almost like he was debating on telling him. Percy just wished that he would give in to the side that wanted to talk. He didn't want Nico going down a bad path. He wanted to be there for his friend and make things better for him.

"No. You wouldn't understand." Nico said quickly.

"Try me."

A light red tint began to appear on Nico's face. That was new. He was probably just embarrassed or something. Man what was with him? The guy was normally cool with talking to him. "No." said Nico. Percy sighed. This wasn't going well. "Come on, please?" he said. Nico smirked.

"You thought that begging me would work?" he asked. He glanced at Percy again, and the son of Poseidon rolled his eyes. At least he said more than three words. That was a good sign, right? Plus he was smirking, he doesn't usually do that unless he's in a good mood. "Well, technically no. But it was worth a shot." said Percy. Nico gave a short chuckle, and actually _smiled_ for once. Percy found himself smiling as well. "No it wasn't." Nico simply said. The two chuckled some more.

Finally he wasn't so quiet anymore! It was great hearing him actually laugh. Percy glanced at him. His smile and laugh actually made him cuter than was bef- WHOA. HOLD ON. Back up! Did he really just think... _that?!_ That... that Nico was... _cute?_ Where in Hades did that come from?! Percy felt his face become hot, and his stomach churned with butterflies. This was weird. So very weird. How could he even think that? That Nico was... _cute?_ Nico half glanced at him.

"You know, for someone who wanted to talk, you're pretty quiet. Are _you_ okay?" he asked. Percy knew his face became a slightly darker shad e of red. He didn't make eye contact with Nico. Why was this happening? Now of all times? "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine-" Crap. Why did he say that? He had just repeated what Nico had said earlier! Why?! Percy felt his heart beat quicken. "Are you sure? You look like you're about to pass out." said Nico. He was obviously suspicious. Why wouldn't he be? He's Nico. He's a master liar, quiet as a mouse, a master at hiding his feelings, funny, smart, hot- _"Gah! No! Stop it!_" thought Percy. He began to blush even more, but thankfully the other boy didn't notice. Either that, or he was just being nice by not saying anything.

What was happening to him? He liked Annabeth. He was in a relationship with _Annabeth_. Wait. What? Where was THIS coming from?! He didn't like Nico that way... right? No! No of course not.

"Really, Percy, you look like you're gonna faint. Or be sick or something. Did the Stoll Twins mess with your food again?" wondered Nico. It had happened before, more than once. You'd think Percy would check each time he left his food or looked away from it. Those Stoll Twins were incredibly sneaky when it came to pranks. Of course, that just came naturally, with them being sons of Hermes.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Uh, I- I'm just- uh-"

"_Love sick?"_ said a voice in his head. Wait. Aphrodite! Of course! This had to be her doing. It just had to be! _"Don't blame me kid. I only made you see what was in front of you. Or in this case, _beside_ you. _You_ were the one who thought he was cute, and hot, I didn't make you think that! Hence the whole "love sick" part."_ Aphrodite thought to him.

"_Get out of my head!" _Percy thought back.

"_I'm gone."_

Thank gosh for that. Percy could finally think clearly, or at least, try to.

"Uh, Percy?" said Nico. Oh that's right. Percy was in the middle of an excuse before _she_ interrupted. "Oh, yeah. Um, I just-"

"_One more thing! Don't worry about Annabeth. She'll totally understand! Good luck with Nico!"_

"_GET OUT AND QUIT INTERRUPTING ME!"_

"_Okay, okay. I'm gone. Sheesh."_

"Percy... uh, do you need to lie down or something?" questioned Nico. Crap. What was he gonna say? He should just agree to what Nico's saying, and go lie down. He really needed to think things over. Especially what Aphrodite had said to him. This was happening way too fast for him to handle it. Percy needed some space. It was hard to think when Nico was right there, looking at him like he _was_ sick. Suddenly the horn that ended the game went off. Oh right, the game. Oops. Oh well. They didn't have too much trouble.

"Oh look, the game is over. Uh, yeah. I do need to lie down. So uh, you do whatever, and I'll do that. Bye!" Percy said quickly. He left a confused Nico behind, and headed for his cabin. He changed out of his armour- he'll return that later- and laid down on his bed. He suddenly felt so exhausted. Aphrodite's words rang through his mind like thunder. _"Love sick? What was in front- er- beside me? Nico? Good luck? But- what... why..."_ Percy sighed and turned on his side to face the wall. He was so confused! His head was starting to hurt. Just then he heard the cabin door open. It was probably Tyson. He was the only other one who could actually enter the cabin without something happening to them. It was something he, Tyson, and the Stoll twins camp up with so that people- Hermes kids- couldn't mess with their stuff. But, they did have to pay a price with _them_.

"Oh, hey brother. Are you okay?" asked Tyson. Percy sighed. He just decided to tell the truth. Well, okay. Not the _whole _truth. Tyson had the tendency to speak his mind- a lot. Most of the time it was good. Sometimes, not so much. He couldn't have Tyson say this to anyone, when he didn't even really know what was happening.

"_You've _got_ to be kidding me! You KNOW what's happening you doofus!_"

"_Very encouraging Aphrodite, now get out."_

"_My expertise is not appreciated in this life time. But fine, I'll leave for good this time."_ sighed the love goddess. Then she was officially gone. "I'm just feeling... off." said Percy. "I just need some rest."

"Off? Like, you're sick or what?" asked Tyson.

"Uh, something like that. I'm not really sure." said Percy. Something was _off_ in the way Tyson spoke. It was like he was trying to get at something. Did he know or see him blush like crazy in the forest? Just thinking about that, and why it happened, made him blush again. It was a good thing he wasn't facing Tyson.

"Huh. Well, okay then. Uh, get some rest. Hope you feel better." said Tyson. He grabbed something and left. Percy sighed and buried his face in his pillow. Was he really... gay?

**Annabeth's POV**

After the game, Annabeth walked across the shoreline of the lake. Why was she acting like this? It was so weird, and unlike her. She was thinking about her actions during the game. Just _thinking_ about being that close to Clarisse made the girl blush and feel nervous. She use to get these feelings when she was with Percy, her current boyfriend. Why was this happening? Did she still feel this way when she was with Percy? She figured that there was only one way to confirm that, but the boy wasn't in sight. He was probably at his cabin, or underwater. But just thinking about Percy didn't give her those feelings like when she thought about the Ares girl. Speaking of which, they returned.

Annabeth sighed and sat down under a tree and stared at the water. Did she really like Clarisse in that way? Was she really gay? She should probably be mature about this, and accept it, but it was hard. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. _"I... I like Clarisse."_ she thought. There. She's accepted it. But... now what? Should she tell her? No. No, she shouldn't. At least, not yet, and what about Percy? She was going to have to break his heart! Although, they have been a little distant lately. Maybe it was time. She didn't want to be with him just until she was ready to tell Clarisse how she felt. That would suck. No, she definitely had to be mature and do the right thing. Break up with Percy.

Oh she hoped he will understand. She wouldn't tell him the _whole_ truth, just that she liked someone else. But... would he still accept her if she _did_ tell the truth? What about Clarisse? What would she say to her? All of these questions made her stomach churn. As far as she knew, there was no other gay person at Camp Half-Blood. Would she be an outcast if everyone knew? Would she have to leave for her safety? Annabeth almost snorted at that. Half-blood was the safest place in the world for demigods. She'd still be in danger if she was in danger here. She'd also have nowhere to go. Half-blood was her home. They wouldn't kick her out of her home, would they? Annabeth had never been more scared or nervous her whole life. No quest could even compare!

Gods... what would Athena think? What about the other gods? Like Ares? What if-

"Hey Anna, what's up? You look down." said a voice. Having been deep in thought, Annabeth didn't hear the person coming. She jumped a little and turned to see who it was. It was Tyson. Anna. Huh. No one called her that before. She usually didn't like nicknames. But she supposed that was just a shorter version of her actual name. "Are you okay?" asked Tyson. She realized that she hadn't answered her question.

"Oh, yeah. I'm okay. Just tired. I tend to look sad when I'm tired sometimes." she explained. It wasn't exactly a lie. That did happen. Okay, so she wasn't at all tired, but still. She wasn't ready to tell anyone yet about her problem.

Tyson sat down next to her. "So, what's up?" he asked. He wasn't as serious as he was earlier. Annabeth shrugged. "Oh not much. What about you?" she asked. She didn't really want to talk about herself just incase she accidentally said something.

"Ah same here. The usual stuff." he replied. Annabeth nodded and looked at the lake. Tyson did the same. "Oh hey, do you know where Percy is? I want to talk to him." she said. Tyson looked at her and nodded. Annabeth couldn't help but notice the look in his eye. He was hiding something. "Uh yeah, he's at the cabin. But he's not feeling right, so he's resting." he explained. Oh. Maybe it was just concern that she saw in his eye. But, she couldn't help but be suspicious. "Oh, I should go, I promised Travis I'd help him out with something. Uh, see ya!" he said. _He_ was going to help _Travis?_ A Stoll twin? Son of Hermes? That was new. Although, they were all becoming better friends. A larger family perhaps. "Uh, bye?" said Annabeth. He was already gone. What was with him? That was weird.

**Nico's POV**

Well, that was an odd morning. Everybody was just acting really weird. First, Percy looks like he's about to faint, then Annabeth exiles herself from everyone, Clarisse looks angrier than usual (not that it's a huge deal, but still,) and even the Stoll twins weren't up to anything. They usually had a prank pulled each day! Sometimes twice a day. Or more. But there was nothing from them. In fact, Nico hadn't seen them all morning. Maybe he would at lunch. It was almost time anyway.

Nico walked away from his cabin and just wandered around camp. He avoided the large crowds of kids that were challenging each other. It was mostly Ares' kids. He saw Annabeth talking with Tyson for a few seconds. But soon afterwards, he left. _"I wonder why Annabeth is alone."_ thought Nico. He would have gone over, but she probably wanted to be alone. Nico could empathize with that. He was use to being alone. But strangely enough, he found himself wandering over to her.

When she didn't hear him, (like anyone ever did,) he spoke up. "So I thought I was the loner of Camp Half-Blood." he said as he sat down next to her. She must have been deep in thought because his voice startled her. "Oh, Nico. Hi. Come on, you're not a loner. You've got us." she said, smiling. Nico gave her a half smile. Only his closest friends ever got to see him smile. It was rare, but it happened every now and then.

"So why _are_ you alone? I mean, I usually see you with someone." said Nico. Annabeth glanced at him, but didn't say anything. That glance was all he needed to know that something was wrong. Her eyes had this, sadness and fearfulness to them. What was she afraid of? Besides spiders of course. "Oh, I'm okay, just tired." she said. That was a lie. Nico could always tell. There were very few that could tell a good lie to him. Annabeth then sighed. She looked nervous. "Alright. You can keep a secret, right?" she asked quietly.

"Of course."

"Okay. I'm... I'm thinking about breaking up with Percy."

Neither of them said anything. Annabeth avoided eye contact with Nico. There was obviously more. Nico dared to ask the question. "Why? You two were happy." he said. He tried not to let his voice crack. He'd always been slightly jealous of Annabeth. He's harboured feelings for Percy for the longest time, and has had a hard time letting go of it. He knew it wouldn't work out, but something kept telling him to be hopeful. Maybe... maybe it was finally time. Annabeth took a deep breath. "I uh, I-I like someone else." she said. Oh, so that was the reason. She shouldn't be as afraid as she seems to be though. Maybe there's more to this than Nico thought. He chose his next sentence carefully. "Do... do you want to talk about that person?" he asked.

Annabeth looked even more frightened. She blushed and shook her head no quickly. Nico nodded. "Alright. Well, when you're ready, we can talk. I won't say anything." he said. Annabeth nodded and smiled.

"Thanks." she said quietly. Nico nodded in return. "I have to talk to Percy, I can't lie to him."

"I can go get him if you want."

Annabeth nodded. "I'll be here." she said. Nico nodded, and went to go get the Sea Prince.

Nico approached the cabin, but then stopped. Perhaps he should shadow travel in. He didn't feel like getting wet from their new "security system." Nico got ready. Shadow travelling took a lot out of him. In about a second or so later, he was in the cabin. Although... he still got soaked. The sudden sound had gotten Percy's attention. Nico sighed. "Okay how did shadow travelling not work?" he asked. Percy smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. His face was red again. What was with him?

"Uh, sorry about that. We programmed it to "attack" anyone that wasn't related to Poseidon. We can fix it though. So, what are you doing here?" asked Percy. He tossed Nico a towel to dry off.

"Annabeth wants to talk to you. She's by the docs." he explained. Percy nodded. It strange. To Nico, Percy looked... awkward. His face was still red, and he was avoiding eye contact. That just... wasn't Percy. He was going to leave it alone, but Nico's curiosity got the best of him. "Are you okay Percy?" he asked. Percy glanced at him, but didn't keep eye contact. "Uh, y-yeah. Um, I'll- I'll go find Annabeth. Bye!" he said quickly. Nico followed him out and looked at him oddly. That was just... weird. That was the second time that day he left like that. Nico closed the door behind him.

Oh, he should probably check to see if it's locked. He jiggled the doorknob- bad idea. Their security system decided that fell under the category called "breaking in." Nico was soaked once more. _"But, why did it have to be _cold_ water?_" he thought. So much for drying off. He sighed and made his way over to his cabin.

He opened the door, and ignored the pointless comments about him by some campers that walked by. Couldn't they come up with anything original? These comments and gossip were all the same! As he got some dry clothes, his mind wandered off to Percy's odd behaviour.

What was with that guy? He seemed, nervous and awkward about something. Maybe he should talk to him. Although, he's tried that, and each time Percy would make up some lame excuse, and leave in a hurry. His face was also red. Wait, this was familiar. Percy was acting nervous and awkward, and his face was beat red. He was acting just like Annabeth when Nico talked with her! That had to be it! Percy liked someone else too, but didn't want to talk with anyone.

A small spark of hope appeared in Nico's heart, but it was extinguished almost instantly. There was no way Percy was gay. He made that clear when he was with Annabeth. Just because they may be breaking up at the moment, didn't mean anything. Nico wanted to find out who this mystery person that Percy liked was. He didn't want Percy to keep things bottled up. It wasn't healthy. Nico knew that all too well. But, he figured he didn't really have a choice. As far as he knew, he was the only gay person at camp. If people knew, that would just make him an even bigger outcast. He'd have to leave because there would be no point in staying somewhere when he wasn't wanted by anyone. He sighed and once changed, he sat on his bed.

Instead of heading to the dark place in his mind, he got up and headed towards the quieter parts of camp. Nico wondered how Percy and Annabeth's break-up went. Hopefully Percy wasn't too down, but then again, he _did_ like someone else. Or at least, that's what Nico thought. He decided to go find Percy and see what happened.

After a few minutes, he found him sitting in the same spot he found Annabeth in. Only, he didn't look as down as she did. But he did look nervous. Nico walked over to him, and sat down beside him. The other boy's face turned a light pink, but Nico didn't mention it this time. "So, what happened?" he asked. He tried to be as nonchalant as possible, since he knew Annabeth wanted to break up. Percy shrugged. "We broke up. But uh, we're alright. She likes someone else and I'm okay with that. I think during this month we've grown apart from the whole dating thing. We're still friends though." he explained. Nico nodded.

"That's good. Hey, do you have any idea who she likes?" he asked. Percy shook his head. Nico sighed and leaned back against the tree. "Why do you want to know?" asked Percy. Nico smirked.

"It's not what you think, I'm just curious. You think it's one of the Stoll twins?" he asked. Percy laughed and shook his head.

"Nah come on, she'd never fall for one of them. They're too childish and immature for her, and she's pretty much out of their league." said Percy. Nico chuckled.

"Yeah, I know. Maybe it's someone from Apollo's cabin, or Ares." he said. Percy shrugged. It was possible. "I'm not sure about Ares though. They like war too much, plus, they can be pretty aggressive." said Percy. Nico nodded. Then who could it be?

**Clarisse's POV**

Meanwhile, Clarisse threw her knife into the dummies heart. She had been at this all day, and hasn't taken a break. Other's have warned her about pushing herself too hard, but she ignored them all. She was always frustrated and angry, and had to get it out somehow. Talking was not exactly her strong suit. She tried not to let her frustration show to make the others think she was just doing some intense practice. It seemed to work, they left her alone.

Why was she so frustrated? It was because of _her_, that's why. Her and her stupid beautiful blonde hair, grey eyes, smile, her hot body- _"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"_ she thought. She threw three more knives at the dummy in time to her words. Clarisse La Rue did NOT think like that. Especially not about _HER!_ She threw one more knife at the dummy.

Clarisse looked around to see if anyone else was there. The coast was clear. For the time being. For the first time since capture the flag, Clarisse let her feelings show as she sighed. It was only for a second though. After a few seconds of catching her breath, she decided to head back to the Ares cabin to take a shower. Maybe that would help clear her mind.

Sadly it didn't work out like she thought it would. She still thought of... her. Why was she thinking like this? This wasn't her. She didn't get _feelings_. She was a rock. No one could break her! No one! Not even- her. Then _her_ image appeared in Clarisse's mind, and, despite the water being warm, she felt her face heat up. Her heart beat went crazy fast. _"WHY is this happening?"_ she thought.

"_Don't you demigods know ANYTHING?"_ said a voice inside her head.

"_Wait. Aphrodite?"_

"_Yup, in the fle- uh, mind... Anyway, girl I think you know what's going on. You keep thinking about Annabeth, and you think you don't know why. I think you're thinking about it all wrong. It's not bad to think like that. Just think, when you accept these ways of thinking, you'll be able to think about anything!"_

"_Uh... yeah all I heard was "think," so..."_

"_Ugh. Fine. But I CAN'T just say it straight up! I have to lead up to it."_

"_Lead up to what?"_

"_Seriously! Ugh. You demigods make my job less fun. First Percy, now you. Why can't-"_

"_Percy? I thought he liked Annabeth..."_

"_Don't change the subject!"_

"_Fine, sheesh. Sooory, go on."_

"_Thank you. Wait, you were being sarcastic!"_

"_Just shut up, and keep going."_

"_Fine. Here it goes. Clarisse, what am I the Goddess of?"_

"_Lo-"_ Clarisse nearly dropped her bottle of conditioner. She felt like she was going to pass out from the heat in the room. She willed herself not to, as that would be utterly embarrassing. _"Yup. But take my advice, don't start panicking, it'll be fine! I know it! I'll leave you to your thoughts now. See ya!"_

Clarisse took in a deep breath and let it out. Did... did she really like Annabeth that way? Just thinking about her made her have those feelings. She took in another deep breath and closed her eyes. "I-I l-like-l-love A-Annabeth Chase." she whispered. She let out the breath she's been holding. That was the first time she truly admitted it. And that scared the crap out of her. She was gay. What would everyone else think if they found out? What was she thinking? No way in hell would she EVER tell anyone! What would her father think? That thought frightened her even more. But her father's thoughts definitely weren't as scary as Annabeth's thoughts. Clarisse sighed, and finished up in the shower. After she got dressed, she headed outside. She needed air, and somewhere more quiet and isolated to think.

She walked quickly, (mostly to avoid everyone,) towards a small pond in the forest she'd found a while back. As far as Clarisse knew, no one else visited that area. So, it's fair to say that she did not expect to see her newly found crush sitting on a large rock, staring into the water. Before she could stop it, Clarisse began to blush. She stepped back into the trees and hoped that she was out of sight. She would have instantly turned to go back, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the blonde girl on the rock.

She looked, sad and scared. That was so unlike Annabeth. Clarisse tried to figure out why she would be in this position, but came up with nothing. She decided that Annabeth wanted to be alone, so, she turned to leave. Unfortunately, she stepped on a couple of branches. The sound echoed throughout the forest through Annabeth's ears. Clarisse froze. "Clarisse?" came Annabeth's sweet voice.

Clarisse got herself together, and slowly turned around. But she was scared that the other girl would see through her shield. Annabeth stepped closer, making Clarisse nervous. "What are you doing here?"she asked. Clarisse couldn't identify Annabeth's tone, or expression. That was new. She usually could do that with anybody. Wait. She asked her why she was here.

"I didn't exactly expect to see someone else here." she said. That was surprisingly easy. Annabeth gave her a quizzical look, as if she didn't believe her. Which was probably true, because since when did Clarisse take a break from sparring? "Were... were you following me?" Annabeth suddenly asked.

Clarisse's eyes went wide. "What? No! No, why would you ask that?" she suddenly got defensive. That wasn't good. "Why would you think that? What, you think because I like you I would stalk you? I wouldn't do that! I came here for some space, not because I have a crush on you! I'm not some weird-" she went on. When she became defensive, she would say just about anything to prove her point. But at this point, she just wanted to shut up! It was like her brain had gone blank and her heart was in control of her mouth. _"Not good! Not good! Get out! Run! Idiot! Run! Get out of there!"_ she thought. It didn't work. She was frozen.

Thankfully, she was stopped. But that was SO not what she was expecting. Annabeth had pulled her in for a kiss. On the lips! Clarisse's mind went completely blank as she began to melt. It felt so good!

**Annabeth's POV**

She liked her. Clarisse La Rue had just said she had a crush on her! So, with that said, Annabeth figured she had nothing to lose, so she pulled her in and kissed her. She instantly felt Clarisse relax under her grip. It felt so good! She's never been more happy! Annabeth deepened the kiss, and Clarisse actually sighed. Her arms wrapped around Annabeth's neck, and Annabeth's arms wrapped around Clarisse's waist. Finally after a few more seconds, they had to get air.

The two girls stared deeply into each other's eyes. "So... would you like to be my girlfriend?" Annabeth asked. She smiled as Clarisse's bright red face lit up with glee. She looked a little dazed, and Annabeth found that adorable. "Yes!" Clarisse managed to squeak out. She kissed Annabeth again. "Yes!" she said once more. Then she hugged Annabeth tightly, and the two stayed like that for a long while.

Suddenly there was a sharp _crack!_ The girls parted and looked around, not knowing where the sound came from. There was nothing. "Weird. Probably just an animal." said Clarisse. Annabeth nodded. Now where were they?

Then there was another noise. Someone coughing. "Damn it! Whoever's there come out right now!" shouted Clarisse. "Stolls if that's you I swear-"

One of the twins stood up instantly. "Why does everyone think it's us?" he said. The other one followed him. But then he slapped him. "Ow!" cried the first one.

"Idiot! Connor! You just blew our cover!" said Travis. The girls sighed. Annabeth stepped forward. "What the hell were you two doing?" she asked. The boys glanced at each other.

"In other words, where the hell are the cameras?" asked Clarisse. Now the guys looked scared.

"Hey, we don't have anything." said Travis.

"Not cameras-" Travis hit his twin again.

"Dude! Seriously! I thought you were a Hermes kid!"

"Hey I am!" Their arguing continued. As they argued, the girls snuck off.

**Percy's POV**

Percy tried his absolute best to play it cool. But it was pretty tough since Nico was right next to him. He tried not to think about it, but again, it was hard. Thankfully, they weren't talking about him. "Yeah I guess, she's great in battle, but she doesn't seem to be in to those types of people. Hm, I wonder if it's Leo, or Jason. Hey here's a scary thought, what if it's Tyson?" said Nico. They both laughed.

"No way, he's my brother. Plus, that would just be _way_ too weird for all of us. Oh, maybe Charles? The guy that's with Selena? Or Chris..." said Percy. Nico smirked, which made Percy smile. "Or Mitchell! Nah."

"So, basically we're just naming off the guys that she's befriended?" said Nico. Percy chuckled.

"I guess. I mean, why would it be someone she didn't know? Hey, what if it's you?" he said. Nico gave him a look that said 'yeah right.' "Come on, you're pretty much the only one left. There's no way it's Luke I mean, he's dead, and everyone else didn't fit-"

"So you think _I_ fit? Your head really is made of seaweed. "

"Hey- oh whatever, I'm only suggesting that because Malcolm had stopped me on the way over and told me that you were talking with her, and she was acting weird. Besides, you really _are_ the only one left that we can think of." said Percy, while shrugging. Nico thought on it. Since he didn't know who she liked, it was certainly possible that it was him. "But why in the world would she like me?" Nico asked.

"_Probably for the same reasons I do."_ thought Percy. He would never say that of course. He was about to answer, when he noticed that Nico was staring at him. "What did you just say?" was all he said. Percy froze. Did... did he say that _out loud?!_ For a few seconds, neither of them said anything. It became clear to Percy that he had in fact, said it out loud. He stood up quickly, and received a head rush. He shook it off, and became very nervous. "Uh, I mean, uh, n-not in that way. Um, I m-mean I do like you as friends, n-not more, even though I want to- I MEAN-" Percy continued to say other random things, while stuttering all the way. Why? Why did he have to say that! In front of him! Dear gods, someone stop him from rambling on like an idiot!

Needless to say, that last wish came true. Someone stopped him from rambling on, but definitely not in the way he expected. By this point, Percy had begun to back away from Nico, and the other boy stood up as well. Suddenly Nico was in front of Percy. He grabbed Percy 's shirt and brought him in for a kiss. Percy's nervous state disappeared instantly. The kiss was short, but sweet. The two boys stared at each other.

"So... would you like to be my boyfriend?" said Percy. Nico smirked and kissed him more passionately. They parted after a couple of seconds. "So yes or no?" asked Percy. The two kissed once more.

Suddenly a noise from the trees caught their attention. "What was that?" asked Nico. It soon became quiet. It sounded like a muffled voice. "I don't know. That was weird." said Percy. The two ignored it, and sat down under the same tree.

"Damn it Stolls!" shouted Nico. That surprised Percy, Nico was usually so quiet. Wait. Did he say Stolls? Damn it! "Show yourselves guys!" shouted Percy. One of them finally stood up. "I'm telling you, everyone guesses us! It's not fair! The rest of our cabin pulls pranks. Why are we the only ones people think of?" he asked. The other one stood up as well, looking quite ticked off. So ticked off, he actually hit his twin. "Damn it Connor. That's twice today you've blown our cover. Are you sure you're a Hermes kid? Maybe I should test you on the rule book when we get back to our cabin!" said Travis. Percy and Nico rolled their eyes. These guys needed to get their priorities straight.

"What _are_ you guys doing? Were you spying on us? Where are the camera and devices and such!" demanded Percy. Travis rolled his eyes.

"We don't have any _devices_." he said.

"Not recording devices."

_Slap!_

"Ow!" shouted Connor. "Will you quit that!"

"What's rule number three hundred and sixty-five!" said Travis.

"Hit Connor when he makes a mistake?"

"That could be a new rule if you keep it up!"

Nico and Percy sighed quietly. They wandered off hand in hand, to the next quiet spot and left the Stolls arguing in the bushes.

**A/N**: heh heh, Boy Meets World reference with the "So yes or no" thing there... and possibly an unintentional Frozen reference with Annabeth and Clarisse. Lol. Don't you love unintentional references?

Well, that's that! How was it? :D

R & R Please!


	3. Idiot

A/N: Hey guys, wow. Three chapters in three dayS? That's a record! Just so you know this one was typed up on my Iphone, so I'm sorry if there are mistakes!

Idiot

Travis's POV

If there was one thing I DIDN'T understand about Connor, it would be the fact that he did NOT want to prank someone. Here at half-blood, we've pranked practically everyone, (except for Chiron, but we didn't want to land ourselves in trouble, so we didn't count him.) I guess I should have said we pranked every demigod, (and Mr. D, and the other creatures,) except for one. The name escapes me, but I'd recognize this person anywhere.

This demigod was new this summer. She was rescued by Piper and Annabeth. This girl (not in my opinion,) may not be as pretty as the other girls at camp- don't think I judge by looks! I don't! Really I'm just restating what other demigods say about her. I just want to say that I think it's mean. Anyway, I was going to say that she was one of the friendliest people around. I never understood why no one tried to be friends with her. Sure, she wasn't claimed yet, but that was no excuse. So, I suggested to Connor that we become her friends. He said yes to that, but as soon as I said we should prank her- he said no. What was up with that? He always said yes to a prank. This was just weird. I asked Katie about it, but she just giggled and said she wasn't sure. Girls. Ugh. I'll never understand them.

"Hey, is it ready?"asked Connor. We were setting up a prank for Leo. It was going to be great! For us. "Yup! Man I can't wait to see the look on his face!" All of Leo's precious babies (his tools) were about to be melted. This one may sound mean, but if you want someone to blame, blame Leo himself. He practically suggested it to us even if he was being sarcastic! He should have known better.

Just then, from our hiding spot on top of the roof of the forge, I saw her. "So... If we WERE to prank her-" I started, but I got cut off.

"But we're not going to." Connor said seriously. This was the only time he was ever serious (unless it involved a funeral.) I didn't know why he was like that when it came to her. "Okay, tell me. Why her? We've pranked everyone at this camp- but her." I said. Connor hesitated. He never hesitated around me. This was weird. "She doesn't deserve it." He said quietly. I gave him a look which he ignored.

"Dude, half the people here don't deserve it. That's no excuse. Why can't we prank her? We've always pranked the new comers, it's our way of welcoming them. But why have we not pranked her yet?" I asked again. I had a feeling that Connor was hiding something from me. But I didn't know what. Sadly my questions went unanswered as Leo walked into the forge. Time to prank him.

We dropped the water ballon filled with the metal melting liquid. This was going to be good. We laughed as Leo repeatedly said no. "STOLLS!" he shouted angrily. That was our cue to leave. We managed to sneak away unnoticed like we usually did.

But we didn't go as unnoticed as I thought. I looked at my brother who was looking at- her. She was sitting under an apple tree sketching. She must have noticed us when Leo shouted. For a little guy, he had a pretty loud voice. The girl gave us a smirk and shook her head. I think she even laughed, but it was too quiet to hear. That was another thing about her. She was so quiet; rarely ever spoke. On another note, whenever she was around, she usually spotted us pranking people. I never knew how she did it. We never got caught until the prank was pulled. Hm... She's more mysterious than I thought. A fact which just made me want to prank her more.

"No." Connor suddenly said. I sighed.

"Why not!" It came out more whiny than i meant it to be. But i didn't care. What was so important about her that made her unprankable? Wait. Is that a word? Oh forget it. "Tell me right now why you never want to prank her." I said quietly. The girl was still in ear shot, and I didn't want her to overhear us.

"Travis just- just let it go." He said. What? That's it? Connor wasn't going to get away that easily. If he wasn't going to tell me, then our siblings will. I had to find Luke. He might know something.

Later that evening, I couldn't find Connor so I went to find Luke. Hey, it was the perfect chance. I found him easily near the hand-to-hand combat training area. "Luke! Hey! Can i talk to you?" I asked.

"Sure little bro. What's up?" said Luke.

"Well, okay. Connor and i are known for pranking people. We're not known for, you know, NOT pranking people." I said. I wasn't sure how to word it. But I thought it came out alright. Luke chuckled. He understood. "What's the trouble then? Someone think you guys are laid back?" He asked. Okay, so he didn't get it. Maybe not a lot of people know. I sighed. "Well, no not exactly. See, you know that new girl, what's her name?" I asked. Luke thought for a moment.

"Oh yeah. The only one who hasn't been claimed since Percy's wish because the circle needs fixing and the gods are busy. Hm. Almost like the old days huh? Well, what about Cleo?" said Luke.

"Cleo! That was it! Uh right. Connor never wants to prank her, and he'll never tell me why." I explained. Luke laughed. Huh. That's weird. That's just what Katie did. Hm... "Sorry man, i don't know what to tell ya." He said. Huh. Also similar to what Katie said. Strange. I had the feeling that they knew something I didn't. With that answer, I went to go soy on Connor because i had no idea where he went.

After hours of searching, i finally found him. Turned out he was by the lake... gazing at something. He was sitting behind a bush oddly enough, so he looked like he was hiding. He looked absolutely calm though. So, curious, I hid behind a tree and spied on him. I tried to get a look at what was making him so calm. I didn't expect to see what I saw though.

Connor was staring at Cleo. She was just sitting under a near by tree with her sketch book in her hands and her eyes closed. I'll admit it- she does have this calming affect. Before I too got lost in the calmness, I looked back at Connor. He just seemed so relaxed. Maybe this was why he didn't want to prank her. Maybe he thought that a prank would take the calmness away. It was a theory anyway.

"You know, two isn't a crowd Stoll." Cleo's voice made me freeze. Did she know I was here? But then I looked at Connor. His face was red. Oh, doi, she must have noticed him. I looked back at Cleo. Yup, she was looking at Connor who had now stood up. He was obviously feeling embarrassed. "Uh- I-I was just..." Started Connor, but no words came. I looked back at Cleo. She only smiled kindly. Hm, I never noticed how her eyes lit up when she smiled. It sure added to the calming effect. I could just feel a my nerves melt away. Wait. I wasn't nervous. Oh! This was what Connor was feeling. Duh!

"Come on, I don't bite." Said Cleo. She giggled a bit when she spoke. Her voice was so soft and welcoming. It almost prompted me to join them. But of course, I didn't want to get caught, so I stayed put. it was then when I was really confused as to why no one tried to be her friend. She was so... sweet. Connor shyly made his way over to her and sat down under the tree.

"I'm Cleo Stevens." Said Cleo.

"Uh, Connor Stoll." The two shook hands. I instantly took notice if Connor's weird reaction. His face became a little red, and his heart beat quickened. That was just... Weird. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Luke- you scared me half to death!" I whispered. He put his hands up in defence.

"Sorry, didn't mean to. But uh, you don't get it, do you?" He whispered back. He gestured towards Connor and Cleo. Connor was a lot more relaxed, and was now having a conversation with Cleo. Connor just seemed so... Happy. I've never seen him like this before. "Get what?" I asked.

"Ugh, you really are an idiot aren't you?" Katie's voice nearly made me give away my hiding spot. "Damn it Katie, what- what are you doing here?" I asked. I still had no idea what they were talking about. Katie smirked. "I was just spying on Luke who was spying on you, while you were spying on Connor while he was spying on Cleo until he got caught." she said casually. "But you really don't know, do you?" That just got me confused. I sighed.

"What? What don't I know?" I asked. I was tired of not knowing. Katie and Luke glanced at each other as if they were debating whether or not to tell. Damn it, just say it! Just then someone new appeared.

"Oh, Aphrodite, hello." Said Luke. I stared. Aphrodite? What the he- then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

My twin brother Connor Stoll had a crush on Cleo Stevens. It all made sense! That was why he didn't want to prank her! He likes her! Wow. I would have thought that he would be the same as me, and just prank them numerous of times, but nope. I guess he just doesn't want to risk losing the chance of them being together, that makes sense. It definitely sounds like Connor. The goddess of love smiled. "He gets it now!" she squealed. I rolled my eyes. Ugh. Girls. She looked at my brother. "Oh! He's so sweet to her! Just as cute as my Piper and Jason! I can't believe I have to go. I could just watch them all day!" with a sigh, she disappeared.

"Well, see ya little bro." said Luke. He and Katie began to leave.

"Guys are idiots." said Katie.

"Yeah- HEY!" said Luke. I almost laughed, but then I remembered that I was in a hiding spot. I got up quietly. I decided to leave my brother and his first crush alone. Maybe once we get to know her better we can prank her.

"Guys, wait up!" I quietly called as I ran after the two. I'll definitely question Connor later though...

A/N: yay! So I may or may not do a this one again in Connor's Pov.

R&R please! :D


	4. Who Would You?

A/N: A thank you to all those that review! Again, this was typed on my Iphone, so I'm sorry if there are mistakes!

Uh, kind of, sort of, (not really) based off of a FRIENDS episode, you'll probably figure out which one right away. ;)

Just a quick note: no one is together (at first) in this one!

Enjoy! :)

Jason's POV

A question. It all started with a stupid question. Why, out of everyone at the table, did HE have to answer it? No one else did! His life was ruined, there was no question about it. It's thanks to that stupid question he was stuck hiding in his cabin from- him. Damn it, why him? Why couldn't someone else have answered that stupid question and be hiding and NOT crying instead of him? It wasn't fair! It just... wasn't fair.

Earlier that day...

Mondays. Who liked them? Jason could only think of two people. Annabeth, and Chiron. He was sure that Mr. D wasn't a Monday or morning person in general. Jason groaned as he buried his face in his pillow. It couldn't be morning. Not yet! Fifteen more minutes... Then his alarm made that annoying sound. Jason huffed and made himself look at the clock. It HAD been fifteen minutes. Heck, it had been thirty minutes. "Crap!" said Jason. He was going to be late! Man he hated Mondays! He got out of bed and took a quick shower, and got ready for the day. Those kids weren't going to teach themselves how to use a sword. Hm actually, they could, but he didn't think it'd go over very well. Plus Jason would disappoint the big guy and he'd probably lose his job. Jason sighed as he walked out of his cabin. His stomach growled. Sadly, he over slept and missed breakfast. No food until lunch. Crap. Did he mention that he hated Mondays?

After teaching kids how to hold swords properly and how to swing, it was finally lunch time! Those lessons really took longer than they should have. Jason hated it when he missed a meal. He was always starving by the next meal. If he didn't get food, he was sure that he'd pass out before it was time for dinner. He walked to the tables and grabbed a load of food.

"You know, for someone who missed breakfast, you're quite nimble." said a voice. Jason turned to look at Percy. Behind him came Leo, Piper, Annabeth- well, basically the rest of the gang. Jason chuckled as they sat down. "Is that a compliment?" said Jason. He went back to stuffing his face with food.

"Ha, you wish Grace." said Percy. The two were always competitive. Jason swallowed.

"I'm pretty sure that was a compliment-"

"Guys, come on. Get a room." teased Leo. Jason and Percy rolled their eyes. They were all quiet until Piper spoke up. "So... Guys," she said while sneaking glances with the girls. What was that about? "If you were gay, which guy of this group would you... You know? Oh, and Nico if you were straight which one of us girls would you... You know?" Nico smirked and chuckled.

"Nope, not answering that." he said. That was probably the smart idea. Leo looked at Piper. "Where's this coming from?" he asked with a laugh.

"All of us girls answered it, come on guys, don't be chicken. It's just for fun." said Piper.

"Maybe if we heard your answers first..." said Percy. Piper scoffed.

"Babies." she said. She then got a quick approval from the girls to spill their answers. "Okay. Well, I chose Annabeth, she chose Reyna, Hazel chose me, and Reyna chose Hazel. It all worked out. We talked over an Iris. Now it's your turn, come on, spill it!" said Piper. The guys sighed.

"Well," Percy leaned in, "if you really wanna know- no one." He was soon answered with a chorus of 'no one's.' Piper huffed like a little kid and crossed her arms.

"Percy." Jason said quietly. Jason could feel his face become red. What? All eyes were on him. "No one!" he said a little too quickly. Piper gleamed at him. Oh gods no. Don't squeal Piper! "N-no one." Jason said again, though with a stutter. Nico gave him a weird look. Oh gods no! "So you would-" he began.

"NO, because I-I said no one." said Jason. Oh gods why? Why'd it have to be him? Would they stop staring at him?! Kelp head especially! Jason was suddenly not very hungry. For Jason the silence was immensely awkward. He didn't dare look anyone in the eye. Why? Why him! "Dude you said Percy-"said Leo.

"No one! I s-said n-no one!"said Jason. Piper said it was just for fun, so why were they all acting like this was the most weird yet interesting thing on the planet?! Suddenly lunch was over. Thank gosh for that! It was a good thing that Jason only had classes to teach in the morning. He headed straight for his cabin, abandoning his food in the process.

Percy's POV

Percy stared at the blond Roman demigod. He wasn't sure how to react to the situation. Should he be weirded out, or happy? Percy suddenly felt eyes on him. He turned to se Piper smiling at him. "What?" he asked. Although, he was a little bit worried about her answer. Piper giggled. Percy suddenly felt nervous. Piper glanced at the retreating demigod, then looked at Percy. "I think you know what." she said in a sing-song voice. Percy could feel his own face turn red. "You're happy he picked you!" Piper said quietly. The two started to clean up the table.

"What? Why would I be-"

"Percy! Come on! You know lying won't work on me." Piper said happily. Percy's face felt like it was on fire. Piper giggled. "You're blushing!" she said quietly. Percy sighed deeply.

"It- it's not like it meant anything. Besides, the guy left as though Leo had accidentally set the table on fire again." he said. Piper frowned.

"You really don't believe it could-"

"No. Why would it? He's Jason. He's..." No words came. Piper smiled softly at him. "Piper uh, could you n-not tell anyone about this? I-I'm still trying to figure things out." said Percy. Piper only smiled.

"Of course I won't. But you know, I don't think you have much to figure out, or be afraid of as you think." she said with a wink. Then she left Percy alone with his thoughts.

Jason's POV

Jason splashed water on his face to cool off. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened at the table. Why Percy? Why did he even say it? It's not as though he's thought about it. Sure, maybe Kelp Head crossed his mind more than once, but that didn't mean anything. Jason lied down on his bed. So why did he get all embarrassed when he said his name? Why did it even matter? It's not like he was serious. Then why did he keep thinking about it?!

Jason sighed. He should take his mind off of it. Maybe a little sword practice? Yeah, that should do it. Jason headed towards the area. He practiced a few moves for about an hour then took a break.

"Need a partner?" Jason whipped his head around to see the very person he'd been avoiding: Percy. The Fates hated him, didn't they? Jason shifted about awkwardly. But he cursed himself for being a nice guy that had trouble saying no. "Uh, s-sure." he said. He cursed his stutter as well. Percy brought out Riptide and the two got ready.

"Uh, look, about what happened earlier-" started Percy. Their swords clashed together.

"Oh, uh, y-you don't have to say anything. It's okay." Jason said quickly. He would prefer that they didn't mention it. Ever. That of course, didn't happen because the Fates hated him. Again their swords rang throughout the area. Jason was just pleased to see that they were the only ones there. "Jason, you don't have to feel embarrassed or anything. It was just one of those things that Piper came up with to try and spike something. I mean, you saw how grumpy she looked when the rest of us didn't say anything." said Percy. Jason hoped that Percy would assume that the redness in his face was from this training. He wasn't sure how to respond to Percy's statement.

He had to admit- he was getting a little bit distracted. He couldn't help but notice how great Percy looked. The way he moved just mesmerized him. It was like he was dancing. Alright, it was a little clumsy, but that didn't mean it didn't look good. Suddenly Jason found himself pinned against the nearest tree. It looked like he lost their little sparring match. Percy had his sword fairly close to his neck, and their faces were just about an inch apart. Jason was frozen. All he could do was stare back at the sea-green eyes that just entranced him. He didn't know what came over him.

Jason kissed Percy on the cheek.

Both of their faces became bright red and Percy backed up a couple of steps. "U-uh, I'm sorry! I don't know- I just- I'm sorry!" Jason stumbled about on both his words, and feet. He just wanted to crawl into a dark hole and never come out! "T-that was stupid, I uh- I just- I gotta go!" With that, Jason made a break for his cabin. He was never coming out for the rest of the day. He had to avoid Percy. Considering that camp wasn't a fairly big place, this was the only way.

Percy's POV

Gods Percy felt like an idiot. His secret wish had come true, and he just made Jason feel like the biggest loser on the planet! Suddenly he felt a slap against his head. He looked to see a very angry Piper. Leo and Nico were also there, and they too looked just as angry. He had a feeling that Aphrodite would look the same. Percy had just messed up bit time. "You idiot!" Piper said angrily.

"Why did you just stand there? It's obvious that you like him!" Leo said loudly. Now Percy was very thankful that they were the only ones in the area. Percy began to blush. "I-I..." he stuttered. Was it really that obvious? "Percy! If I know Jason, he's probably in his cabin so for the love of Aphrodite go after him!" Nico shouted. As surprising as that was , (Nico was usually very quiet,) Percy snapped out of it. He had to go to him! He had to tell him how he felt. With a nod, Percy ran like the wind (A/N: haha wind.) all the way to his crush's cabin.

Jason's POV

A question. It all started with a stupid question. Why, out of everyone at the table, did HE have to answer it? No one else did! His life was ruined, there was no question about it. It's thanks to that stupid question he was stuck hiding in his cabin from- him. Damn it, why him? Why couldn't someone else have answered that stupid question and be hiding and NOT crying instead of him? It wasn't fair! It just... wasn't fair.

Damn it, he was starting to break down. He collapsed on his bed. He buried his face in his pillow and let the tears fall. Why did he have to be such a big baby when it came to his feelings? Jason had never felt so vulnerable and insecure in his life.

Knock, knock!

Gods. It was probably Percy at the door. Knock, knock, knock! Jason just wanted it to stop! He wanted him to go away! Knock, knock. There was a pause. He heard a light tap against the door as if someone had leaned against it. It was probably Percy. "J-Jason please?" It was Percy. His voice was shaky. But Jason didn't move. He didn't want to. "Jason please I need to talk to you!" said Percy.

Percy's POV

Percy didn't trust his voice, but he had to speak. But he was getting no answer from Jason. He felt like collapsing. He rested his forehead against the door. "J-Jason please?" he said. No answer. He felt his eyes start to water up. "Jason please I need to talk to you!"

He heard a sigh from behind him. He turned to see Nico. "Let me talk to him." he said. Percy swallowed back tears and nodded. He shakily sat down on the steps as Nico simply walked into the cabin.

Jason's POV

Gods couldn't Percy catch a hint? He didn't have his permission to barge in! "Jason." Oh. It was Nico. He supposed... that was alright then. Jason didn't look at him though. Not after he'd been crying. "Jason, since you helped me with my Percy issue, I'm going to help you with yours." said Nico. Percy issue? If he didn't feel so lousy, Jason would have laughed at that. "What issue?" he asked. He figured that Nico didn't know what had happened. Boy was he wrong.

"I uh, saw what happened. You know, the uh, kiss?" Nico said awkwardly. Jason groaned. Great. If Nico saw, then who else did? He finally lifted his head. "Man. You look awful." commented Nico. Jason snorted.

"Thanks for the help." he said sarcastically. Nico smirked. "Nico I don't think I can face him. I don't know what to do."sighed Jason. His voice cracked from crying. This time Nico sighed. "Honestly? I think that's the only thing you can do. Talk to him Jason. I don't think it will go down as badly as you fear it will." At this, Jason looked at him. Then sighed. Damn it, he knew Nico was right. "Fine." he sighed. Nico nodded and went to the door. He let Percy in as Jason sat up. Jason avoided eye contact with Percy.

"Uh, hey." said Percy. Boy was this awkward. But that wasn't the worst part. Percy decided to sit down right beside him. He was so close that their bodies were slightly touching. That just made Jason blush. "Uh, alright, look. Um, I know I was a jerk back there a-and, I'm sorry. I-I was just surprised, a-and I didn't think y-you and I-I would ever- ever happen." At this Jason looked at Percy. He was surprised to see that he was blushing just as much as he was. Did... Did that mean what he thought it meant? "I- what I'm t-trying to- to say is that um- I-"

Jason smiled. He grabbed Percy by his shirt collar and kissed him. This time- on the lips. He deepened the kiss after a couple of seconds, and Percy moaned. Jason had never felt happier!

"I KNEW IT! I knew Percy had a thing for Jason! Ha! Pay up Connor!" someone shouted. Someone else groaned. The two boys parted and Jason opened the nearest window. "Get lost Stolls! And don't make bets on my boyfriend!" shouted Jason. Percy blushed, and smiled. They heard the twins scamper off to only the gods know where. "Man, those guys are everywhere." laughed Jason. Percy laughed as well and took his hand in his. "So... boyfriend?" he said. Jason smiled.

"Well... Yeah, you know if you-" he was interrupted by a kiss.

Nico's POV

"Eeeep! I knew it would work! Pay up!" Piper said enthusiastically. The guys (minus Nico who had taken the girl's side,) sighed and dug into their pockets. "Never doubt a child of Aphrodite guys." said Nico. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." he said and handed Nico his money.

"Hm. What would their couple name be?" asked Hazel.

"Jercy! Nah, that sounds like jerk. Um, Person? Nope, already a word, oh! Guys! It's Jacy!" squeaked Piper. The others agreed on that one.

"Okay for real guys, if you were gay, who would you?" asked Piper. They sighed again. Once again, Piper got 'no one' as a response from all except-

"Nico- NO ONE!" Leo said loudly. Piper smiled brightly. Leo and Nico began to blush. The girls, (minus Piper who was squealing,) face-palmed in the background.

"Hm. Leico? Nah that's stupid." said Travis. Connor snapped his fingers. "Valdangelo." he said. Said boys blushed more. Piper shook her head. "No, no, no, no! Guys, guys it's Ghostfire!" she said excitedly. Leo and Nico groaned as everyone laughed and agreed. Oh boy.

A/N: Lol, there it is! :)

R & R please! If you suggest a couple, I may just write about it! :D


	5. So Much For That!

A/N: It's me again! Uh a couple of things: One, you may suggest any couple, just NOT Percabeth! :D Two: uh... let's just say that Travis and Connor are twins for those chapters... (sorry, it's been a while since I've read the Lightning Thief. No hard feelings! :D) This is a fanfiction after all so let's all just roll with it lol! :)

**By the way, if anyone suggests a couple that is rarely seen, I'll probably write about them first if they also suggested a well known couple...(That's not Perceabeth- wait. Have I said this before? Meh, whatever.)

I'm not sure how well known this couple is, but it was suggested.

Note that Percy and Annabeth aren't together in this one. Uh, but then again, they may not be together in most of these... so just assume that I guess, unless I say otherwise.

ANYWAY, enough of my rambling, on with the next chapter!

Enjoy!

**Thalia's POV**

Silence. There was nothing but silence, and the wind. Thalia sat calmly on a high branch, and waited for prey. She was just waiting. Patience. That's the key of being a great huntress. Patience, and having good sight, aim, and hearing of course are also needed qualities. Thalia closed her eyes and soaked in the cool breeze that carried the peaceful forest air. It was so quiet. There was nothing but the sound of-

Crack!

Thalia got an arrow ready, and shot it. The arrow silently flew threw the air towards it's target. "Ah! What- Crap!" came a shout. What? Thalia sighed realizing who this idiot was. The person stumbled about and she heard him fall into a bush. "Ugh. Man. Thalia! Where are you?" said Percy Jackson. Yup, that guy may be a fish in the water, but on land he was- well practically still a fish. Thalia jumped down from the tree she was in, and landed gracefully (A/N: Ha! Grace... uh, yeah.) on her feet. She picked up her arrow that thankfully, didn't hit him. She instantly found Percy strangled in a large bush. The bush nearly looked as though it was eating the boy. Thalia smirked at the scene.

"What's up fish head?" she asked. Percy stopped struggling for a second and gave her an annoyed look. It was partly from being in a bush, and partly from her nickname for him. Thalia did like to use one nickname in particular, but she liked to be different once in a while. "Aside from the fact that I'm now in a bush, we're planning on throwing a party for Nico's birthday even though he doesn't want it. Wanna help annoy him?" he said. With that said, he went back to struggling with the bush. Thalia almost laughed, but she thought it might be mean. The guy was having some serious trouble. But there was a particular reason as to why she wasn't helping him.

"Sure. Sounds cool. Bugging Nico is a fun past-time. But let me guess. This was Connor's idea?" she asked. Percy laughed.

"Ha, yeah... Aarg! This stupid bush!" Clearly he was getting frustrated. Who wouldn't? Thalia snorted, and Percy frowned at her. "You know, ever since Nico found out about Connor's crush on him, he's been trying to get Nico to be more socialized. Since I'm not around that much, did it ever work? More importantly, did they ever get together?" laughed Thalia. It was Percy's turn to snort.

"Define 'together.' But I do think it's working. Slowly, but it's working. Connor still gets nervous around him though." said Percy. Thalia sighed. She wished that Nico would just relax around others once in a while, and maybe show some emotions. But she supposed that came with being the son of Hades. "I think that's probably just because he isn't sure if Nico feels the same way. Ugh! Relationships! That's the exact reason why I joined the Huntresses." said Thalia with a nod. Percy smirked.

"I thought it was because you wanted to avoid the prophecy." he said. Thalia was about to reply, but Percy's smirk went away as soon as it came. "This damn bush! Hey, uh Thalia-" Thalia backed up.

"Uh, no I'm good here." she said. Percy looked at her and huffed. He really hated that bush now, but he will even more later... Thalia smirked again. "Oh just, grab onto a higher branch doofus." she said. Percy sighed and reached up. Eventually, he managed to pull himself out of the bush. "Man, finally! So. Nico's party." he said. Thalia laughed. "What?" said Percy.

"You may want to go straight to the infirmary before the party planning." said Thalia. Percy looked at her worriedly.

"Why? Did your arrow hit me?" That just made Thalia laugh more.

"No, but that bush you were in? Poison oak." she laughed. Percy glanced back at the bush in fear.

"Uh, a-are you sure?" he asked. Thalia nodded. Percy kept glancing back and forth from her to the bush. She noticed that he didn't notice he started subconsciously scratching his arm. "How- how do you even-" Thalia interrupted him.

"You're scratching." she said. Percy glanced down, and looked very frustrated. He groaned and rubbed both arms. The two started to head to the infirmary before it got worse. "Aaarrg! Why do we even have poison plants on camp grounds?!" shouted Percy. Thalia snorted again. "Why do we have a climbing wall with lava?" she said. Percy just glared at her. "Stop scratching, it'll just get worse." Percy sighed.

"Have you fallen into poison oak before?" he asked. Thalia laughed and shook her head.

"It's just what I've learned about the forest. Duh. Now seriously stop scratching. It'll get worse, plus you'll have scabs." said Thalia. Percy sighed and tried to ignore it.

**Percy's POV**

Damn poison oak. Why him?! Heck, why now? Just before Nico's party! Man, this sucked. And gods this was torturous! The gods were probably having heart attacks from laughing so hard. Well, he didn't know about his dad actually, but, you never know with the gods. It didn't help that Thalia was having the time of her life. Yeah sure, he wanted her to be happy but come on! This was hell on earth- so to speak. Soon they made it to the camp grounds, and Percy couldn't have been more happy.

They didn't see many campers as it was close to bed time. Chiron gave the party planners permission to stay up a little later that usual for obvious reasons. Percy and Thalia came back to their friends hovering over a table. Annabeth was explaining how everything was going to go down that night. It was funny, it almost gave Percy the feeling that they were going to ambush Nico with party stuff. Which, they kind of were technically. Nico was definitely not the party type. Damn this itchiness! He really wanted to go straight to the infirmary, but he also really wanted to check out the plans to see how things were going. Also, Connor looked like he could use some reassurance. The poor guy almost looked as though he was about to throw up.

"Hey guys, how's the planning going?" asked Thalia. Percy noticed that Connor crossed his arms and shifted awkwardly on his feet as he stared at the plans. But Grover soon reminded him of his problem. "Uh, Perce? Are you okay? You seem... fidgety," he said with a weird look on his face, "And red and splotchy." Percy sighed.

"Oh, poison oak." said Thalia. The other replied with a chorus of 'oh's' and took a couple of steps back. Percy groaned. Why did this have to happen to him? "You know, it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't shot your arrow at me." said Percy. Thalia snorted.

"Who was the one pretending to be prey?"

"Who was the one being invisible?"

"Who-"

"Guys! Stop flirting-" shouted Leo.

"We weren't-"

"I don't care! We need to get this done before Hazel brings Nico here around ten."

"Besides, I remember one time when Connor and I hid in a bush of poison oak by mistake while we were pranking Clarisse and- uh, you get the idea you don't need to here more." said Travis, the gang replied with a series of 'awe's.' "Anyway, the point is, getting an Apollo child to heal it right away is better before about fifteen minutes have passed. Wait. How long has it-" Travis never got an answer to that, as Percy quickly ran off to the infirmary. It had been long enough.

**Connor's POV**

While Percy's predicament was amusing, Connor was still a nervous wreck. What if Nico disappeared on him er- them? Gods this was nerve wracking! He didn't know if he could handle a rejection very well. Suddenly he felt a hand on his tense shoulder. Travis gave him a reassuring smile, as if to say that everything will be fine. Connor nodded in response. "Okay guys, let's get to work. We have about three to four hours so let's move it!" said Travis. They broke out into groups and started decorating their reserved and private area. Chiron had made sure that no other campers could sneak their way in and mess with it. After all, not everyone liked Nico.

Connor sat alone in the Big House. He sighed as he got the cake ready in the kitchen. He decided that his hands weren't going to be steady enough to hang streamers and whatnot. He stared at the 'happy birthday' written beautifully on the cake. He hoped it would be a happy one. Travis was being reassuring, but he was having a hard time believing it. Ever since Nico accidentally found out about his huge crush on him, not once has he shown any sign of reciprocating those feelings. That made Connor very anxious and scared. He did have a small glint of hope though. He knew that the son of Hades was very good at keeping his feelings hidden. So there could still be a chance. But then again, it was pure chance.

Connor reached for another candle, but his hands were shaking so much that he had to stop for a second to calm himself down. It was hard though. He felt like this party would conclude whether or not Nico returned his feelings. This fear was worse than any quest, or monster. "Believe son, and everything will be fine." came his father's voice in his head. Connor gave a small smile, glad to know that he was there.

"Connor?" said a voice. He turned to see the last person he thought he'd ever see at the moment.

"Uh, N-Nico! Um, wh-uh, what are you doing here? Where's Hazel?" Connor blurted. Damn his nerves. They just got in the way. Nico looked confused. "Hazel? Isn't she here?" he asked. Oh gods, this wasn't happening!

"Uh, I uh- she w-went looking f-for you. T-to bring you h-here." Nico gave him a weird look. Connor's heart was beating faster than ever, and his face was practically on fire. Then Nico glanced down. "Um, why- is that a birthday cake?" he asked. Connor tried not to panic.

"NO! I mean, yes, b-but i-it's not- I mean-" The key word being tried.

Thalia's POV

Thalia walked across the grass towards the infirmary. She decided that she should be the one to check on fish head. That was mainly because it was kind of her fault in the first place. She walked past the Big House and just glanced in the big window to see- wow. Someone arrived earlier than planned. Uh oh, it looked like Connor was freaking out. She hoped things turned out alright for them. Ugh, relationships! She sighed and carried on to the infirmary.

Once there, she found Percy sitting on the end of a bed. He kept fidgeting, and Thalia then felt bad for what happened. "Hey." she said. Percy gave her a forced smile.

"Uh, hey." he said quickly.

"I'm sorry. This was my fault." said Thalia. Percy smiled.

"Hey, don't be. I was the one being quiet in the woods for once." he laughed. Thalia laughed along with him. Then she remembered. "Oh hey, when I was walking over here, I saw that Nico had arrived earlier than planned in the Big House." she said. Percy's eyes narrowed in thought.

"The Big House? Isn't that where Connor was with the cake?" he asked. Thalia nodded and smiled sadly. Percy got the message. "Oh man. Connor's freaking out isn't he? Man I hope things turn out okay- arg! Come on! How long does it take to make ambrosia?!" he sighed. Thalia smiled and held back a laugh. Then she got an idea. "Ooh, I'll be right back! Hang on. Don't scratch." she said. Percy sort of half groaned half sighed.

Thalia went in to the back, and opened up a cupboard. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water. Why they didn't stop at the lake before, she'll never know. Hey, she was the daughter of Zeus. Not Athena. She walked quickly back to where Percy was waiting anxiously. "Here." she handed him the glass. "Oh man thank you! Why we didn't stop at the lake, I'll never know." he said mirroring her thoughts from earlier. Thalia smiled as he began to relax. After a couple of seconds, Percy sighed in relief. "I officially hate poison oak!" he said loudly. "So much for the ambrosia." Thalia laughed, and she couldn't help but notice Percy blushing. She didn't exactly know what that meant, but she didn't care.

"Well, I for one am glad you feel better." she said. A comfortable silence fell upon them.

**Percy's POV**

Percy stared at the floor in silence. It wasn't awkward, but comfortable. It was as though he and Thalia knew each other since forever. Percy's gaze left the floor and made it's way over to Thalia. She was looking out the window in thought. He noticed how the light made her look as though she were glowing. Her stormy green eyes (Percy still thought they were green even though everyone else says they're a bright blue colour,) twinkled in the light as she remained deep in thought. Percy's stomach flipped again. Why did this keep happening whenever he was around her?

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Thalia's voice snapped him from his thoughts. A blush crept up on his face again. He glanced down at the floor. He didn't realize that he was staring at her. What the heck? "Huh? Oh, uh, no. I uh, was just lost in thought. I didn't realize that I was um... yeah." he said. Thalia smiled, which made Percy blush again, and his stomach twisted with knots. Why was this happening to him? He was not, repeat not falling for her. Not! That wasn't him. Besides, she was Artemis's top hunter. It's not like it would work out. Gah! Why was he thinking like that?!

"I wouldn't think as much if I were you, you might sprain something." laughed Thalia. Percy smiled. He felt as though that already happened. Nevertheless, he laughed along with her. "I think that already happened." he said before he could stop himself. The blush deepened when Thalia looked at him oddly.

"What do you mean? Sure your head may be filled with kelp, but you know we're always kidding when we say that." said Thalia. Percy's brain was reeling with excuses, but nothing seemed good enough. What was he suppose to say? Tell her the truth about his crush? Wait. Was it even that? "Uh... w-what I mean is um..." he said quietly. He couldn't think of anything! Heck, he couldn't think period. Thalia tilted her head to the side curious as to what he had to say. "I- I think-"

"Guys! We're almost done if you still want to help out! Frank is running out of air so someone else has to blow up the rest of the balloons, and everyone else is still busy with their thing. Jason would, but he's exhausted from keeping the breeze down so we could hang everything else. He also helped with the lights when Travis accidentally shocked himself. Oh he's fine as well. If you hadn't noticed, the whole place had been dark for like fifteen minutes." said Grover. The guy had absolute perfect timing. Although, Percy wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not. Thalia stared at Grover. "What- really? I'm sorry I could have helped. I didn't notice. When did this happen?" she asked.

"Just after you left. Oh, and Jason's okay, but he's ready to fall asleep at any moment. The guy's good, but he's not Jupiter or Zeus." laughed Grover. The other two laughed. Then Grover looked at Percy. "You're safe now right?" he asked. Percy gave a short chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm good." he said. Grover looked at him weird.

"Really? Are you sure because your face is still red." he said. Percy cursed himself for blushing as it deepened in colour. He glanced at Thalia and looked back at Grover. "Y-yeah. I'm fine Grover. We'll uh, meet you out there okay?" he said quickly. Grover gave him a look, but glanced at Thalia and then gave him a knowing smile and walked off.

"So..." said Thalia. Percy looked at her. She had a mischievous grin on her face that made her look as though she were one of Hermes kids. "We both know you're fine. So why's your face red?" she said. Percy's heart beat accelerated.

"U-uhm..." Percy couldn't think of anything. He couldn't tell her. He knew how it would end so why tell her and have his heart broken? Thalia stood up and walked over to him. "Don't sit next to me. Don't sit next to me. Don't sit- oh crap!" thought Percy. Thalia had sat next to him on the bed. The room had just gotten ten degrees hotter. "There must be a reason..." said Thalia.

"Um, it-" Percy cleared his throat that had become dry. "It uh, just g-got hot in here is all." he managed to say. Gods, having Thalia sit right next to him was making him feel weird. She scooted closer to him. Gods why? "So... why did it get hot all of a sudden?" she asked. She was going to make him say it wasn't she? She obviously knew, and she was going to make him say it! Annabeth had said that they could either be best friends, or worst enemies. What if Thalia chose to be enemies? What if this was her way of humiliating him? On the other hand, what if she chose friendship? What if she was being brutally honest? Gods, this was a fifty-fifty chance! A flip of the coin! But then, then she did something that surprised them both.

She cupped his cheek with her hand and kissed him. On the lips! All of Percy's earlier worries floated away just like that. It was obvious. She chose friendship. But then a totally new fear came about.

Artemis would kill him! No, she'd get Thalia to break his heart, then kill him. It would be an act of revenge. Percy, as much as he didn't want to, ended the kiss. "Wait, Thalia, what about Artemis and- and the huntresses?" he asked, scared to hear her answer. Thalia smiled at him.

"So much for being a lieutenant." she said with a giggle. Percy sighed with relief. They kissed again.

"Oh, and don't worry about Artemis. She may hate you, but she won't kill you. Zeus may have a say in that." said Thalia. Percy smiled. "We should get back to the party. They're probably done." said Thalia. The two got up and went outside.

"Hey guys!" Percy said loudly. The gang was just sitting around a table. They all looked fine, except for Jason. Once Percy spoke, Jason shot up from leaning against Piper with his eyes closed. "I'm not sleeping!" he said quickly as he rubbed his eyes. He then yawned.

"Sure you weren't. Hey, does anyone know what's taking Hazel so long? Also, where's Connor with that cake?" asked Grover. Juniper sighed and shook her head. Everyone else chuckled. But, he did have a point. Percy and Thalia looked at each other wondering if they should say it or not.

"Damn that kid! When I find him I'm gonna-" came Hazel's voice from behind them. Those two should really have some sort of bell because everyone nearly jumped out of their socks. "Oh hey guys." said Hazel. "Do you know where Nico is?" she asked. The others looked confused. That just made Hazel confused. Percy and Thalia looked at each other again wondering if they should say anything. "Man, if he doesn't get here I won't be able to give him my awesome gift!" sighed Jason. Piper snorted as if she knew something the others didn't. That made Percy and Thalia look at her curiously.

"Uh, that doesn't matter guys 'cause Nico just got the best present ever that none of us can ever top." said Travis. No one had noticed that he had walked over to the Big House. He was looking at the window, and Thalia and Percy gave each other knowing looks. Everyone migrated over to the window. They all 'awed' at the scene. Nico was gripping Connor's shoulders, and the two were kissing. Both of their faces were bright red.

"So much for the surprise party." said Hazel.

"Wait. Did Nico get the present, or did Connor?" asked Frank. They all thought on it.

"Nico got the present, Connor got the gift bag." Travis said with a smile. They all agreed on that.

"Does this mean we don't get cake?" asked Grover. That got him eye rolls and a sigh from Juniper. Grover looked at everyone. "What?" he said.

"Ah give him a break guys, he's part goat, it's in his blood." said Luke. Juniper looked at him.

"Hey. I'm part goat too." she said.

"Grover's also a man." said Piper. That got her eye rolls from the boys and smirks from the girls. Travis looked back at the couple inside. "Alright. Should we end this and celebrate Nico's birthday, or let them have their fun?" he asked.

"Well, I for one want to uh 'let them have their fun,' but I also want to celebrate. So I say we interrupt them." said Piper.

"Let's all go, but I'll go in and be the annoying brother." said Travis. Luke cleared his throat. Travis sighed. "Fine. You can come too." he said. They all walked towards the door.

Travis and Luke walked inside. The others listened carefully in the hallway. "Sup guys?" said Travis. The others held back a laugh. They heard shuffling feet, which would only be Connor and Nico moving away from each other. "So when you guys are done making out, we wanna celebrate." said Luke. Again, everyone had to bite their tongues to keep themselves from laughing. Travis sighed. "Man, I was gonna say that." he said.

"You said the first thing." said Luke. "You could at least let me embarrass them too."

"Fine. Oh and Nico, appreciate our gifts too even though they won't top Connor's." said Travis. Percy didn't have to picture the boy's red faces because at that moment, the gang walked out.

"So, do we get cake or not?" asked Grover. Everyone looked at him. "What?"

"What's with you and cake tonight man?" asked Percy. Grover shrugged.

"I love cake." he said. Connor put the last candle in the cake, and Leo quickly lit the candles. Everyone cheered as Nico blew out the candles with one breath. After everyone got a piece of the cake, Annabeth shrieked and everyone looked at her.

"We forgot to sing happy birthday!" she said loudly. Everyone, including Nico, sighed.

"We uh, we can't sing with cake in our mouths." said Leo. Although, his mouth was full of cake so it was very muffled. Annabeth sighed. Nico smirked. "Hey it's okay, I'd actually prefer it this way." he said. Annabeth smiled.

Percy glanced at Thalia who had some frosting on her nose. He thought she'd never looked more beautiful though. He gave a small smile, but it faded once he noticed that Grover was smirking at him and glancing at Thalia. He tried to hide the blush that was appearing on his face. Now was not exactly the time to tell everyone that they were together. Maybe someday they would. But for the time being, Nico was the centre attention whether he wanted it or not.

A/N: There you have it! :) Sorry to put Percy through that torture, but it was funny.

Well, R & R please! :D


	6. Match Makin'

**A/N**: I just wanna say something- sorry about not updating my other stories guys... and this one! I will! Eventually. I've just been busy- and lazy... and forgetful... um, I think you get it. But the school year is over! So hopefully I will have more time to write in my free time. :)

**You'll be happy to know that I've written down ideas for the next FIVE chapters! But, you guys can still shout out ideas, it's greatly appreciated! :D**

Huh. This one turned out to be _MUCH_ longer than I anticipated. It was also more funny than I thought it would be lol. Well, enjoy the longer chapter! :D ...please keep in mind that they won't _always_ be this long lol.

**Malcolm's POV**

I walked along the sandy beach towards the cabins. Specifically, my cabin. I wanted to see if my sister, Annabeth, was there so I could ask her something about our new architecture project: a new high-tech training centre. The high-tech part would be built by Leo and his siblings of course, we were just the architects. That was fine by me. As I walked up the stairs to the Athena cabin, I couldn't help but glance over at the darkest cabin in camp. The cabin of Hades, in which his son Nico di Angelo resides at. Well, when he's actually here that is. He had the tendency to leave camp once in a while.

I'll admit it, I'm not scared of him. In fact, I would actually like to become his friend, if he would allow it. He's a fairly closed off person that was misunderstood. At least that's what I thought. The guy was only fourteen after all. Just because he was the son of Hades didn't mean that he _was_ Hades in any way. I smiled as I saw him walk up to his cabin. After he entered the cabin, I returned to what I came to my cabin for.

I knocked twice and opened the door. "Annabeth, I have a question about the- oh gods! Uh, I'm sorry! I- uh, I'll uh just come back later!" I stammered. I should say that I have the tendency, or bad luck as some might say, of walking in on Annabeth (or anyone for that matter,) when they're having an intimate moment with someone. _Thankfully_ nothing has gone beyond kissing, which was what Annabeth and Piper were doing at that very moment. Although I fear that that day will come eventually. I backed out of the cabin and shut the door. I fear that day, I really do. "Why did it have to be me _every single_ time? I just have to have the _perfect_ timing of interrupting everyone's romantic moment with someone. Why couldn't they build separate rooms within the cabins? That would make my life so much easier!" I said to myself as I walked away from the cabins.

"You know if you keep talking to yourself people will think you're crazy." said a voice. I turned to see the Stoll brothers sitting on a rock. That was strange. Normally they'd be pulling some kind of prank. I was going to respond, but then I think it was Travis that spoke. "And you might actually learn something about relationships by doing that." he said. The other one smirked. I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. What are you guys doing anyway?" I asked. They glanced at each other.

"Just relaxing on a beautiful summer day!" Connor said dramatically. His brother nudged him while smiling, and he nearly fell off the rock. Suddenly I heard my sister and her girlfriend scream from the Athena cabin. The brothers looked at each other, then at me. "That could mean anything." said Connor. I smirked at them.

"Yeah. It could... but it doesn't." I said. The brothers made a dash for the nearest exit, but I grabbed them before they got away. "You guys have met my sister, right? And Piper?" I asked them. They struggled to get their arms out of my grip, but they weren't getting away that easily. I began to drag them over to the cabin. "I'll admit it, for a skinny guy you're pretty strong." said Connor.

"Um, thanks?" I wasn't exactly sure if that was a compliment or an insult. I was still dragging them to the cabin when Percy, Jason, and Nico showed up.

"Uh, hey what's happening here?" asked Percy. Travis got out of my grip, but I instantly grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Yeah we heard a couple of girls screaming and came running." said Jason. He eyed the brothers curiously. I figured that he probably figured out what happened. "Ask these guys." I simply said as they tried to squirm away from me. I didn't blame them. Everyone feared my sister and her girlfriend when they were angry. Speaking of them, the two girls came out of the cabin covered in rainbow slime. Man, I'm so glad I left when I did. The brothers froze. Actually everyone froze. I took this moment to unfreeze everyone. "Hurry before they remember how to move!" I said to my sister. The two girls grabbed the boys by their shirts, and started dragging them towards the Big House.

"So, you guys wanna watch them get scared under Annabeth and Piper's wrath?" asked Percy. They started following the other four, and I trailed behind them. Since I wasn't exactly "best friends" with either of them, I thought it might be kind of awkward.

After a few seconds, I my gaze had wondered over to the son of Hades. I guess after the war, he hadn't been as distant as he was before. He was closer to his friends, those guys being Percy and the gang. In all honesty, I had no idea where this need- no, _"want"_ to be his friend came from. But suddenly seeing him with other people that I wasn't exactly close friends with, made it awkward for me.

"Oh hey-" Percy suddenly turned around and started walking backwards. His voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I quickly looked away from Nico, and looked at him, and hoped he didn't notice my slightly pink face. Okay, it was a bit darker than that. Hey, I thought he saw me staring at Nico. "How did you find those guys anyway? Usually they disappear until dinner after a prank." he said. Sadly it took me a second to realize who he was talking about. I mentally cursed myself. "Oh. Oddly enough they were just sitting on a near by rock." I said casually. I'm pretty sure that my voice cracked ever so slightly though. Percy looked confused. But who wouldn't? Those brothers really would usually find a great hiding spot until dinner. Why were they just on a rock? Eh, we might be reading too much into it. They probably had their reasons.

"Huh. That's weird. I guess we'll find out why in about five seconds 'cause we're here." said Jason. I looked past the three in front of me, and sure enough, he was right. Annabeth and Piper dragged the Stolls up to Chiron and Mr. D who were playing cards. Mr. D looked up at them, and burst out laughing. Luckily Chiron was much more mature. But he did smirk a little. That made the other boys and I smirk as well and glance at each other.

"If it is alright for me to say so, should I even ask?" asked Chiron. Percy snorted, but held back a laugh and cleared his throat. If looks could kill, the Stoll brothers would definitely be dead by now. Both Annabeth's and Piper's looks were very menacing, and were even just about as scary as Nico's scariest look. One thing's for sure, these guys were in for it. As much as I like them, this was fun.

"These two idiots put some kind of grenade in the Athena cabin! The place is a mess! Including us! They ruined on of my books!" shouted Annabeth. It was then Piper decided to chime in.

"Not to mention our hair and clothes- gods. I'm acting like my mother now. But still!" she screamed. I almost laughed at the comment about her mother, but I decided that it probably wasn't a smart idea at the moment. Travis really shouldn't have spoken at that point. "It'll wash out easily, just take a shower. Sheesh, relax." he said. Annabeth gave him her death glare. Both brothers paled, it was then that the others and I (minus Chiron,) laughed. "Relax. _Relax?!_ You've ruined one of my favourite books! It'll take months to find another copy in ancient Greek you ******* idiots!" shouted Annabeth. That scared everyone. Annabeth was NOT one to swear. Nico, Percy, Jason and I looked at each other, and took a few steps backwards. I glanced around, and noticed that Annabeth's outburst had attracted a bit of attention. Pretty much all of Ares' children laughed at the fact the Stolls were finally getting what they deserved. Well okay, it was more than just Ares' children.

It was pretty much the entire camp. Even some of Hermes' other kids.

"As funny as this is, since you two have been caught, you will be punished for all the pranks you pulled on _me_ as well." said Mr. D. The brothers paled even more. This was great. "Oh, and me." said Percy. "You guys decided it would be funny to exchange the water in my fountain for baking soda and vinegar." The brothers held back a snicker. It wouldn't be smart to start laughing. "And me for when you charged up my sword with negative energy." said Jason. Ouch. That must have hurt. Jason is always such a positive person. "And me. You took all of my clothes and replaced them with brightly coloured ones." said Nico. I nearly smirked at the image of Nico wearing pink and purple. That was definitely _not_ his style. "There was also that time you decided to prank Mitchell and I twice a day for two weeks." I added in. The brothers glanced at each other. They were in for it.

"Okay! We get it. We've pranked everyone at least once." said Connor. I couldn't help but notice that he was blushing. Interesting. But before I could read more into it, Mr. D spoke.

"Right. As your punishment, you will clean the _entire_ camp at the end of each day until it's spotless, everyday for a year. You will also have to resist pranking _anyone_ during that time." said Chiron. Everyone smirked at their expressions. They couldn't believe their ears. Piper and Annabeth smiled triumphantly at each other. "In other words, you're on probation." said Mr. D. Several campers laughed at them. It sounded harsh, but many of them would say they deserved it more than some of their siblings.

The brothers began to protest, but they were soon stopped. "You will do it." said Piper. I'm pretty positive she used some Charmspeak because the brothers nodded in response. However her Charmspeak didn't effect the sideways glares they gave each other. "You will also be supervised by someone to make sure that you do a good job." said Chiron. The brothers didn't say anything. This had to be their worst punishment ever. It was great though!

"Alright, everyone go back to what you were doing." said Chiron. Everyone did so. "As for you two, your punishment begins today right after dinner." The brothers sighed in defeat. The other gods were probably having a good time watching this. Chiron and Mr. D went back to their card game. Piper grabbed Annabeth's hand and the two started to head back to their cabin. "You start at seven. Don't be late." shouted Piper. Again, I'm sure she used some Charmspeak.

The Stolls sighed. "Man this is your fault." said Connor. Travis looked at him.

"My fault? You're the one who suggested we prank Mitchell!" he said. Hm, this was about to get interesting. I glanced at the other three, who still remained. They looked intrigued. "Yeah. _Mitchell_. Malcolm just happened to be there _each time_." Connor said, with a slight glare at me. Hm. Then Connor realized that we were actually still there. Travis smirked as did the rest of us which made Connor's face turn pink. "Boy I have great timing." I said sarcastically. Nico and Percy smirked. Percy was probably remembering all the times I had walked in on him and Annabeth when they were together. Jason decided to break the silence. "So... why Mitchell?" he asked. Connor looked at him and it seemed as though he was debating whether or not to say anything. Even though it was plainly obvious to everyone here.

"N-no reason." said Connor.

"Are you sure? You know, if there _is_ a reason, we'd probably be okay with it." said Nico. Then he actually _smiled_. I think my heart skipped a beat. Gods, he should smile more often. But just as Percy was about to question Connor some more, I got dragged away by Mitchell.

**Mitchell's POV**

"Uh, hey Mitch, what's up?" asked Malcolm. After the Stoll's punishment was in place, I just happened to notice the fact that my best friend was staring at the son of Hades. Of course I had to take action. "I just wanted to talk to you about some... one." I said. Malcolm looked at me.

"Who? And why?" he asked. Oh boy. I realized that he was probably oblivious. It's just like him. "Well, Nico, and I think you know why." I said. Malcolm just looked at me and didn't say anything. Either he was trying to process what I was saying, or he just didn't get any of it. "I think you should tell him." I said. I hate being blunt, but if that's what I had to do to get it though Malcolm's thick head, then so be it. Malcolm blinked. "Tell who what?" he asked. I sighed.

"Oh you- ugh! Sorry mom, I know you don't like it when we have to be extra blunt, but some things just have to be done." I said. Malcolm gave me a confused look. I turned him around so that he could look at Nico. The three guys were just standing there talking. "You may not have figured it out, but I have. You like him right?" said Mitchell. Malcolm glanced at him, but kept his eyes on Nico.

"Uh, yeah? I mean we're not exactly friends or anything, but sure." he said. I mentally slapped himself. Why did I say like? I should have said the _other_ L word. _Stupid!_ I sighed. "Mal, I-" but he interrupted me. Darn it! I hate that! "Oh, and I think that Connor-" this time I interrupted him.

"Oh yeah I know."

"You do?"

"Mal?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's my mom?"

Malcolm blinked. "Right..."

Malcolm suddenly glanced at his watch. "Oh crap! I gotta go. I was suppose to meet up with Annabeth at the centre, see ya!" he said. With that, he ran off to the new training centre.

"Wait! But- I- You- Ni- damn it!" I said, frustrated. I then heard someone behind me. I turned to see the other guys, minus Nico. "Huh. You're usually not one to swear." said Percy. Well, I am a terrible liar, so I decided to just say it.

"Uh, yeah. Hey, did you guys ever notice how oblivious that guy is?" I said, gesturing in the direction Malcolm went. Jason snorted.

"Yeah. When Piper and I were together, he didn't even realize that Piper and I _were_ together until he walked in on us kissing." he said. This time Percy snorted.

"That guy has perfect timing doesn't he? Hey, why don't we get them together?" Sweet! I was totally up for that! Hm. But Malcolm's just so oblivious. "Great! But uh, how? Malcolm's not the most observant guy around." I said. Travis smiled.

"No. But you and Nico are." he said. They all looked at me expectantly. I sighed. I knew this was coming. But it made sense since I was Malcolm's best friend, and Nico's um, acquaintance? Yeah sure. Acquaintance. Oh boy...

* * *

Later on, I found myself walking back towards the Stolls and Jason, after dinner. Jason was watching them this time. "You got anything?" asked Jason. I shrugged.

"Not exactly-"

**Earlier...**

I walked up to Nico and fell in pace with him as he headed towards the tables for dinner. "Oh hey Nico." I said. Nico gave me a sideways glance. He always questioned why I talked to him. "Uh, hi?" he said.

"So. Uh, I was thinking about heading down to the new training centre to see how it's coming along. Wanna come?" I asked. I hoped this would work. Nico shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe."

"Okay. Uh, oh! What do you think about architecture?"

"Um... It's alright... I guess? Why are you-"

"Alright, let's forget about architecture. What's your opinion on building structures?" Nico gave me a weird look.

**Present...**

"That's it? Man, that guy does not know the definition of small talk." sighed Travis. Jason sighed. He crossed his arms in thought. "Well, it would be hard with questions like that, come on man." he said. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Well, if you wanna try, be my guest. Besides, aren't _you_ closer friends with him Jason?" I said. He just shrugged. It was then I noticed that Connor was quiet. He hadn't said a word since I got here. I decided to try and engage him into the conversation.

"I mean it makes sense. You're practically a friend of his, and I'm pretty much just an acquaintance, right Connor?" I said quickly. I probably shouldn't have said it so fast, but, I wanted to see what Connor's reaction would be. Travis smirked at his brother, but didn't say anything. "U-uh, yeah." he stuttered. Clearly I had caught him off guard. Sweet! My heart flipped as the blush appeared on his face. I was about to reply, when Piper cut me off. She came up behind me and glared at the other three, and uh, partly at me.

"Yo Dumb and Dumber, quit yackin' and start rakin'." she ordered with a snap of her fingers. Man, I wish I could Charmspeak. It would have helped over the years... Anyway, the Stolls grimaced, but nodded and got back to work. Then Piper looked at Jason. "I'm watching you, watch them... watch him..." she said that last part quietly, and gestured at me. I raised my eyebrows and smiled as Connor gave her a shocked and nervous glance. She winked at him, which made the blush on his face grow darker. Travis had a full out smile on his face, and he seemed to be having a hard time keeping quiet. Connor would definitely hear about this later. Then Piper smiled at Jason and ruffled my hair- Gods she knows how I _hate_ that! "No don't- ugh!" I sighed. I had it all perfect! She walked off to wherever she goes in her spare time. Oh wait. She's with Annabeth.

"Okay, I can see why you- _some people_ uh, like Aphrodite children." chuckled Travis. I knew it was hard for him. He was just waiting for Piper to leave. Jason laughed, and Connor didn't say anything. "So ha- uh, back to the matter at hand. We all agree that Jason should be the one talking to Nico." I said.

"Alright fine! I'm warning you though, I _suck_ at lying. Especially to my friends. Uh, Travis, you should go clean the stables. Oh and Connor, you uh, go clean that grassy area by the lake. I think it could use some help after that last camp fire... And Mitchell you um, watch him?" said Jason. I nearly snorted. He definitely wasn't lying when he said he couldn't lie.

"Yes sir." said Travis.

"Sure Sparky." I said.

Travis and I looked at each other oddly, but we shrugged it off. Travis was cleaning the grounds, and my hair was ruffled, it threw us off. We each went our separate ways, some more happy than others, (hint, hint.)

**Jason's POV**

This night couldn't have gone any better! Okay, it still could have gone a _whole_ lot better, but it's progressing. I'm uh, not exactly talking about Nico and Malcolm. Travis and I had other plans tonight... actually, I think Mitchell did too. I think he's caught on. Oh wait. Who am I kidding? His mother is Aphrodite!

"Okay. I bet ten drachmas that they'll hook up tonight." said Travis.

"I bet that they won't until after they've told everyone, and that they'll 'secretly' date for about a month or so. Oh, and _five_ drachmas." I said.

"Fine. Nine." said Travis. I sighed.

"Five."

"Eight."

"Five."

"Seven."

"Five."

"Fine! Five. Cheapskate." mumbled Travis.

"Hey, you've got connections. Where am I going to get ten drachmas?" I said. Travis sighed and shrugged.

"Alright whatever. Now what about Malcolm and Nico? Those guys are not as obvious as Mitch and Connor." said Travis. He had a point. Malcolm is so oblivious to any kind of romance, and Nico is just a pro at hiding his feelings. "Yeah. Malcolm's oblivious to anything romantic, and Nico's got a perfected shield over his emotions. I honestly have no idea if any of this is true. But, Mitch is a son of Aphrodite, and I guess I could ask Piper to see what she thinks too. Keep working." I said, noticing that Travis had 'taken a break.'

"Damn it." he sighed and got back to raking. "But yeah. If this is true, then we may need all the help we can get. It's obvious that Nico has confided in you before, so you're probably the only one that can get anything out of him. As for Malcolm, I think we'll leave that to Mitch. They are best friends." I nodded. It sounded like a good plan.

"Yeah. I can't ask too many questions though, otherwise Nico will just barricade his feelings again." I said. Travis nodded, but then he frowned and looked at the ground.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh gross. Do we even wanna know what that is?" he said pointing. I looked, and sighed.

"Okay ew. Well, you're the cleaning maid, get to work." I said, and patted him on the back. He sighed.

"Why can't you do that this time? Hey! I'm not a _maid!_"

"Janitorial Servant then. Hey, I'm just guarding you so that you, what was it again? _Keep working_. Now keep working! I am NOT touching... that. Whatever it is." I said. Travis rolled his eyes and sighed. I wondered how his brother and Mitchell were doing. They were probably having a better time than we were at the moment. But they would probably have liked to see this. Of course, then Travis would most likely get Connor to do it. Although, Mitch was pretty defensive. Hm, then again, Mitch also liked to tease his crushes. Uh, but moving on to more important matters.

"Just use gloves." I said.

"We don't have any."

"Don't have any? What were you guys thinking? You're Garbage Boys." I said. Travis was about to protest, but sighed. "If you do this, and finish in good time, we can spy on Connor and Mitch when they're on their first date. Whenever that may be. Or we can spy on one of them asking the other out. Or both?" I said. He looked intrigued, but I knew it wouldn't be that easy. That thing was pretty disgusting. "Alright. If you do this, you can help me, Percy, and Annabeth spy on Malcolm and Nico's first date." Travis shrugged and sighed. It was a pretty good deal. Normally Annabeth wouldn't allow such a thing, but since it was _her_ brother that was getting involved... she got worried and gave in. Not that she didn't trust Nico, she was just being a sister. Just like Travis was being a broth... well... okay, it's not really the same at all is it?

"Mm...Yeah alright fine. Don't think this is gonna make me forget about our bet!" he said. I sighed. Of course it wouldn't. He's Travis Stoll. Hermes' kid. "Wouldn't think of it." I said dully.

During lunch the next day, we decided to put our plan into action. After grabbing a lot of food, (which really was a lot,) I sat down with Nico at his table. "Uh so," I said, trying to come up with a conversation. It seemed a lot easier when we were planning this. "Um, wh- how's your sister?" I mentally smacked myself. 'How's your sister?' What I thinking? Nico can see through any lie and plan. He was bound to see this one. "Um, she's fine I guess. Hasn't said otherwise. She's been busy so I haven't really had a long conversation with her." said Nico. Did I mention how bad I was at lying? The only times I can lie is when we carefully plan it out and rehearse. We probably should have done that this time. But the only times we actually do that is when it involves a quest or something similar. This sucked. What made matters worse, was that Nico was eyeing me suspiciously. That wasn't good. Obviously he'd caught on already. After one sentence.

"Uh, so-"

"Jason we all know you suck at lying, what's going on? What are you guys planning? I know you and the Stolls, and basically the rest of the group are doing something. What is it? Does it have something to do with Malcolm?" said Nico. Awe crap, he cornered me. For a quiet guy he sure asked a lot of questions. But, I guess under the circumstances, anyone would. So, once he was done, I answered oh so very smartly with-

"Uh-"

* * *

"Why in Hades would you tell him that I have a crush on him?!" Travis whispered loudly. When no one had volunteered to watch them, I volunteered. It was the perfect chance to talk about my... lie. Connor was about to lose it with laughter. Travis glared at him, then glared at me with more intensity. "If you did not have lightning powers, great sword skills, and Zeus as a father, I would hit you with this broom!" he said. I was certainly in for it this time. Connor was enjoying this very much. I assumed it was payback for the day before. The gods were probably on the floor with laughter. And it would be _my_ fault. But one thing bugged me. "My father is-" I started, but Travis' glare cut me off and I didn't finish.

"Look, I'm sorry! He cornered me! You know I suck at lying! Everyone does! Even the gods. It's true, just ask them. Then he brought up Malcolm, and he asked if we were planning something, so I- I just said the first thing that came to mind." I said awkwardly. Travis' glare got even more intense.

"Me having a crush on Malcolm was the first thing that came to mind?!" Travis whispered harshly. Well of course he did NOT want anyone else to hear this and spread it around. I sighed suddenly feeling very tired. "I'm sorry." I repeated.

"You've gotta fix this! I can't have anyone going around thinking that I-" started Travis, but he stopped once he saw his brother Luke coming towards him. "You say nothing. Got it?" Travis warned Connor. He just nodded and had a smug look on his face. Luke smiled at his brothers as he arrived. "How are you cleaning maids doing?" he asked.

"Oh, they prefer Janitor Boys." I said. Said people gave me a look. "What?" I said. Luke snorted.

"Uh, so what are you doing here?" asked Travis.

"I just came by to say that I heard something oh so _very_ interesting." said Luke. Uh oh. Travis and I tensed up. Connor just looked content. I _did_ tell Nico not to tell anyone. "What did you hear?" Travis asked cautiously. If this got out, he was never going to hear the end of it until Malcolm and Nico got together. If _that's_ even true. I still wasn't confident.

"Oh, it's nothing _really_. Just uh, I heard from _somebody_ that you Travis, have got a crush on a certain blond brainy pants." said Luke. Oh gods Travis was gonna kill me. Well, kill Luke, then kill me. Travis' face got red. I couldn't tell if he was blushing out of embarrassment, or anger. Actually, knowing him, it was probably both. He gripped the broom until his knuckles were white.

"IT'S NOT TRUE!" he whispered loudly. We glanced around to check if anyone was near by. There didn't seem to be anyone. But, then again, Hermes' kids were great at hiding. Their siblings could be anywhere. "What do you mean it's not true? I heard-"

"Jason tell a crappy lie!" finished Travis. I stayed quiet as Luke glanced at me. Yup. Everyone knew that was my flaw. As well as putting others before myself. (It can actually be pretty troublesome sometimes.) Luke sighed. "Damn it. Only with you Grace." he said. This time I blushed from embarrassment. "Wait. You at least told Nico not to tell anyone, right?" asked Luke. I froze. I couldn't remember it had all been such a blur. The three of them stared at me. "You. Told. Him. Not. To. Tell. Anyone. Right?" Travis said slowly. Oh boy. Well, lying wasn't going to work, so-

"Uh, I um, don't remember..." I said quietly. Luke and Connor face-palmed. Travis just- well, if looks could kill..."I mean, I think I did. But it was all just a big blur! I- did I _mention_ I stink at lying?"

"You've gotta fix this!" said Travis. Man, he sounded pretty desperate by this point. Why do I have to suck at lying? "Hey, I will. I-" Suddenly both Stolls got back to work quickly. Huh. That was weird. Travis sighed. "Piper and Annabeth walked by." he muttered. Oh, it suddenly made perfect sense. Luke smirked, but didn't say anything. Then he narrowed his eyebrows together. "Wait. Doesn't Piper hate using her Charmspeak?" he asked. Good point. The rest of us just shrugged. "I guess she just thought that these two really deserved it this time." I said. The other two sighed.

"Anyway, onto more important stuff, dude, what are you gonna do?" Luke asked me. In all honesty, I had no idea. I didn't even know where to begin! How did you fix something like this? I guess, tell the truth would be one way, but there was no way the others were going to let me do that so... now what? "Uhm, I don't know _yet_, but I will." I said. _I hope._

I had to fix this soon, otherwise Travis' reputation as a, um, 'ladies man' (even though that's not really true either,) would be ruined. I know! I could talk to Nico! Of course I wouldn't tell him the _entire_ thing, but, just... um... hm. This was going to be some work. I'd have to go to my cabin and think on it for the rest of the night. Damn it! Why did I have to say that?

* * *

Needless to say, I got no sleep that night. It took me forever to come up with a decent plan to fix this mess. It was fairly simple, surprisingly. I was just going to tell Nico that I lied, which would have been obvious to him anyway, and we weren't trying to get _them_ together.

I arrived a little late, (I slept in a little, but an hour of sleep didn't help much,) and glanced at Hermes' table. I could instantly tell that Travis didn't get much sleep either. Connor and Luke looked okay though. They were probably just glad it wasn't them though. I looked away and headed to the food as soon as Travis glanced up. I looked around and didn't see Malcolm or Nico anywhere. Great. Mitchell had disappeared as well, but he was most likely with Malcolm. Then I saw something I didn't want to see.

Drew and her crew, (ugh, accidental rhyme bleh,) had gotten up from Aphrodite's table and were walking up to Hermes' table. This was NOT good. Knowing Drew, she'd make a scene. I had to get to her before she got to Travis. I set down my plate of food and speed-walked over to her. Luckily, I reached her before she got to Travis, who'd noticed her as soon as I got there.

"Hey Drew, what uh, what are you doing?" I asked. She just gave me a weird look and glanced at the Stolls. Uh oh. It seemed as though my suspicions were correct. She was just about to torment Travis, and possibly Connor too. Why else would she be heading that way? "We were just going to talk." she said.

"About what?"

"What, you ever hear of private conversation?"

"You and kids from Hermes' cabin? As if _Drew_. No one, and I mean _no one_ would believe you guys were anywhere close to friends, so you can just take your group and bullying antics with you as you leave." I said sternly. I could feel the Stoll's and Luke's stares on Drew and I. Drew narrowed her eyes. I hadn't even realized Luke had stood up and was beside me until Drew began to turn around in defeat. "Oh and Drew?" Luke said flirtatiously, but then as soon as she turned around, he got intensely serious, "Remember who our fathers are." he finished. I was pretty sure I saw at least _some_ fear in Drew's eyes. Sure, Aphrodite was powerful, but Luke's father was the master at tricks and jokes, and mine was the ruler. _Finally_, Drew and her crew (ugh that rhyme,) left the area.

Once Luke and I turned around, we saw that we didn't attract that much attention which was good. Well, it was either that, or everyone was just being nice and not saying anything. But I did notice that Piper and Annabeth were giving me curious looks. Actually, I saw that Katie, the Stoll's friend, was looking our way also. I sure hoped that they didn't hear anything. I looked back at the Stolls. They looked a little worried, but they each gave Luke and I a small smile and went back to eating. Well, that was close. That could have been a _huge_ disaster and it would have been all my fault! Thanks to what had just happened, Travis seemed to have forgiven me at least a _little_ bit.

Later that day, I was cornered- man, I hate getting cornered- by Annabeth, Piper, and Katie. I knew what they were going to talk about the moment they got together and headed my way. "Alright, spill it Grace, what was that all about at lunch? Drew looked like she was about to do her worst." said Katie.

"Yeah I mean, she hasn't looked like that since Annabeth and I got together- ohmygosh! Did she find out about Connor?" whispered Piper. I sighed. This wasn't going to end well for me. "Uh, not exactly..." I mumbled. Then I told them the whole story.

And all three girls slapped me. Hard.

"Alright! I deserved that, but I was planning on talking to Nico to make sure he doesn't tell anyone because I... don't remember if I said that or not." I said.

And they slapped me again. Twice as hard.

"Ow! I- look, I _will_ fix this! But I'm just not sure if I'll be able to do it alone if more people know." I said. The girls looked at each other, then back at me. It was as though they just read each other's minds like in _Merlin_. (Yes, I watch that, don't judge, it's great!) Girls. They're all sisters! "Well..." Annabeth said slowly.

I sighed. "You don't have to stop hating me but-"

"Oh we won't." said Piper.

"Not until you've fixed it." said Annabeth. I sighed again. Of course they wouldn't forgive me until after it was fixed. "Okay. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find Nico."

**Connor's POV**

After classes and dinner, it was... ugh, time to clean the camp again. Who knew us campers could be so messy? Also tonight was _my_ night to clean the armour. Great. We also had Capture the Flag today as well. I am _sure_ that the armour won't be _that bad_ to clean. Note the sarcasm in every word. Well, I guess I didn't have to walk around and pick up trash like Travis. Especially if it meant picking up stuff like... you know, I hoped he remembered gloves this time.

I made my way over to the forge with Leo who was one of the people watching us. The other being Annabeth- _Heh, lucky Travis!_ and Mitchell. Obviously I was a little disappointed when Mitchell went with the other two. Leo opened up the doors to the forge, and I did _not_ like what I saw. Just how many campers were there? A billion?! I have never wished so much for Merlin's magical powers- yeah, I watch that. Jason and Piper made me. I think Piper only watches it for the romance part- even though she would deny it. I sighed. "Can I at least have help?" I asked.

"Nope. You've gotta do it dude. They're not gonna clean themselves, so get to work." said Leo. He handed me a bucket of soapy water and a sponge. For the rest of the time we were quiet. It was hard at first, but after a while I was on a roll. I was nearly half way done when Leo suddenly spoke.

"So. Are ya gonna tell him?" he asked. I dropped the helmet I was cleaning and flinched as it hit the metal floor. My face started to heat up as I picked it back up. I cleared my throat. "Uh, tell who what?" I asked. I had a feeling I knew, but I didn't want to say anything. Leo sighed. "Tell Mitchell about... you know." he said. I stopped scrubbing the helmet for a moment. Yup. I knew he knew. "I- I don't- know." I stammered. Then a scary question hit me. "How- how many people know?" I asked quietly. Leo looked down and shrugged.

"Mm, I don't think you wanna know. But on the plus side, I don't think anyone besides Drew and her crew- ugh that rhyme- are gonna hate you- why did that all have to rhyme? They'll hate you for the pranks, but not for that. And another thing, the guys and I figured, if we're gonna get Mal and Nico together, we might as well get you and Mitch together while we're at it!" Leo said happily. The blush on my face deepened, but I gave a small smile. "Thanks. Uh, so tell me. Were we _that_ obvious?" I asked. Leo smirked.

"Trust me. I don't think you snuck past _anyone_- besides Malcolm. That guy is oblivious to ANY kind of romance." said Leo. I snorted. "Plus, you know, I just happened to notice that you took _much_ better care of Mitchell's armour than you did _mine_." he finished as he looked down at the helmet in my hands. I smiled.

"You realize that me dropping your helmet was _your_ fault, right?"

"I take no blame in the damaging of my armour."

"Right. You-"

"Awe crap! I forgot I have to go check on a few things for the new centre! I'll be back, I gotta go. _Keep working!_" said Leo. I gave him a look as he left, but kept working. I looked around and realized that I still had _half_ of the stuff left to clean! It was already getting late in the evening! Awe crap is right. I sighed as I put Leo's stuff away and grabbed another one. This was going to be a _long_ evening.

**Travis' POV**

"Uh, hey Mitch, how come you went with us instead of going with the other two?" I asked. I desperately had to refrain from saying 'Connor and Leo,' otherwise it would just be _so_ obvious. Mitch shrugged. _Man, Connor's lucky he didn't get Annabeth!_

"Eh, I wanted to see you pick up trash. You remembered gloves right?" he asked. I sighed.

"Yeah I remembered gloves!"

"Alright, don't get your underwear in a bunch!" said Annabeth. Mitchell laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"Sorry, I'm just edgy." I said.

"Oh right about your thing for Malcolm?" said Mitchell. I stood straight and glared at him. "I do _NOT_ have a thing for him! _Why_ did you have Jason talk to Nico? He's a _terrible_ liar!" I said. Mitchell blinked, then sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Awe crap, I uh, forgot about that factor. I just figured that since they were close friends- but, yeah. I guess it's my fault then huh? I'm sorry man. We'll fix this." said Mitch. I sighed.

"You forgot. You _forgot?_ What kind of idiot forgets that factor?!" I said. Mitch frowned.

"Hey I did." he said.

"Yeah he did." said Annabeth. Mitch looked at her weirdly. He looked unsure of something. "Are you... defending me or..."

"Anyway, what if Malcolm hears this thing? I don't wanna lead him on or anything." I said. Mitchell and Annabeth both snorted and laughed. I rolled my eyes. "Mal? Come on. That guy wouldn't see the romance in _Merlin_ until Arthur and Gwen kissed!" said Mitchell, but then he paused. "But then again, he probably knows the actual history so..."

"Not to mention the way Gwen flirts with Merlin in the first season." said Annabeth. I frowned.

"Whoa. Hey, spoilers!" I said. The other two gave me a look. I sighed. "Connor's gonna make me watch it with him, Tyson and Clarisse." I explained. They gave me the same look. "I know, but Con says that they'll be a lot of battles and whatnot that Clarisse will like." Mitchell shrugged.

"Yeah, that's true. Wait. Hey, get to work!" said Annabeth. Crap. I sighed for like the fifteenth time that evening. "Besides you're almost done." I looked up.

"Really?" I said. Wow. Oh how the time flies when one is... working. I quickly picked up the last pieces of garbage. "Okay. You're done." said Annabeth. "Let's see how Connor's doing. If he needs help, you'll help him." I sighed. But, I would definitely help my brother. There was like, a gazillion pieces of armour to clean. Okay, that's not an actual number, but you get the idea. There was _a lot_.

When we got there, Leo was gone. "Oh right. Leo had some stuff to do at the centre. I- wow." said Annabeth. Wow was right. I had to give my dear brother props. He cleaned _everything_ in about two hours! "Wait. Where is Connor?" asked Mitch. We started to look around the forge. In a few seconds, I found him. "Uh, guys? I found him." I said.

After cleaning the outfits, my brother must have been exhausted! He had slumped himself down on the ground, leaning against the table leg, fast asleep. I dared to disturb his slumber. "Con, Con!" I said in his ear as I nudged him gently. He slowly opened his eyes a little. "Hm?" he said.

"Why are you on the ground? Why didn't you come get us?" I asked. Connor yawned, and leaned his head back against the table leg. I knew how this would play out, but I wanted an answer. It wasn't everyday that I found him on the ground sleeping. Well, it happened when we were five and six, but that was normal. For Connor. "I... sleepy." mumbled Connor- and with that, he fell back asleep. I couldn't help but smile. Just like when we were five and six.

"Awe." cued Annabeth. She smiled and tilted her head to the side. "I almost feel bad for making you guys do this." she said. I looked up at her. "_Almost_." I sighed and looked back at Connor.

"I guess one of us has to carry him back to the cabin?" I said. I was about to, when someone spoke up.

"Actually, I uh, think Mitch is stronger." Leo had suddenly appeared in the room and was standing beside said person. We all looked at him, and I stood up. Mitchell smirked. "Could you be this obvious and blunt with Malcolm?" he asked. We all laughed as Mitch picked up Connor carefully in his arms. Connor made a noise, but he didn't wake up. Although, I couldn't help but notice that he seemed... happy. We left the forge, and I was thankful that everyone was at the party in the gym and didn't get to see them. We didn't want anyone ruining the moment now, did we? Plus it gave us a chance to put Connor to bed safely without Drew coming out and, well yeah. We were also thankful that we didn't have to clean it this night. Oh... but we'll have to clean it tomorrow... I sighed .Then a thought came across my mind as we headed back to the cabins. I looked at Leo.

"Mitchell is stronger. _Riiiiiiight_." I said. Mitchell snorted. I gave him a questioning look. "Hey. I can swoon you with my _power_ from my mother remember. It's easy to do." Mitch said confidently. I smirked, but gave him another questioning look. Leo laughed. "I'd like to see that battle." he chuckled.

"He wouldn't dare..." I said. Then glanced at Mitch, who still looked confident. "Would you?" I asked. Mitchell shrugged, and glanced at Connor. He didn't have to worry though, Connor was a pretty deep sleeper. "Nah. Not on my friends. If I was facing an enemy though..." Mitch smirked. Just as he said that we passed by the gym, and Drew came stumbling out with a glass of... something in her hand. We all looked at Mitch. "Well that would just be weird." he said. We all agreed. Drew then fell down on her butt on the stairs and leaned over the grass as she held her stomach. "Oh please no don't-" I started- but my prayer didn't work.

I sighed. "Well crap. Looks like someone spiked the punch again." I said. My theory was proven true when Malcolm came bursting out just like Drew had. He held onto the railing and leaned over. Gods, he looked like crap. I glanced back at Mitch. "Uh, you take Con back, we'll uh, we'll deal with this." I said. Mitch nodded and headed off. He sent a worried glance back at Malcolm. "Malcolm?" said Annabeth. We walked up to him just as his legs gave way. He held onto the railing tight until his knuckles were white. Heck, the guy's whole face looked white. What the heck was put in the punch?

"Mal, what happened? Why..." said Annabeth. Malcolm gave his sister the most regretful look ever. Man I felt sorry for the guy. "I... someone spiked the- the punch." he said. He closed his eyes for a second. Annabeth put a hand on his back. "And... and the watermelon... aarrg..." he sighed. Annabeth and I sighed. I sighed because I knew that half the campers wouldn't be able to hold their licker. "I- I have to tell you something." wheezed Malcolm. Annabeth rubbed his back as comfort. "I-I was g-going to find Nico and..." he breathed in deeply. I wasn't sure if it was from the sick feeling, or from nervousness. It was probably both. "Tell h-him how I feel-" Huh. He did know. How about that? He must have read up on acting or something. Or he learned to hide his feelings for Nico by copying what he did.

"But I was nervous, so I- thought a drink might help me calm down." said Malcolm. He sighed and leaned against the railing. "I gulped it down in about two and a half seconds. It didn't help, so I went back for more. When I thought I was ready, I still couldn't do it, so I thought maybe food would help. I didn't even realize what was happening to me until I felt sick. That's when I ran out here...uuugh." he groaned.

"Um, did- did you throw up on him?" I asked with caution. It was a touchy subject, so I didn't want to make it worse for him. Malcolm shook his head. "I never got to him. Gods I feel so stupid!" he said angrily. Annabeth gave her brother a sideways hug. Just then Jason came out- but this time he looked sober. Thank _gosh_ for that! "There you are. We were all looking for you. Nico said you looked- well, I guess you get it. Oh, hey Drew." he said as he glanced down at the girl who was barfing on the grass. She groaned in response. "You suuuuuuuuuuu..." she didn't uh, get to finish.

I sighed and looked at Jason. "Do you know who spiked the punch and watermelon? I have a personal message to deliver to them..." I said mysteriously. Jason smirked.

"Uh, no. But- oh right. You guys have to clean this place tomorrow night. Ouch. Um- oh! Hey, I'll go get someone. Be right back!" he said. With that, he darted back into the room like- well, like lightning. Yes, bad pun, but whatever. Suddenly Katie came out looking like- well, like Drew and Malcolm. Oh boy. I grabbed her before she fell down the steps. "Huh? Oh. Trav-less." she mumbled. Now there's a new nickname. "Some party huh?" I asked her. She smiled and nodded, but stopped almost right away. I guess it gave her headaches. Just then Jason came back with- Nico. Alright, the guy does come through after all. "Malcolm?" said Nico. He heard a groan, and glanced back. "Hey Drew." he said. His reply was the same as Jason's- barf. Malcolm groaned. Nico knelt down beside him as Annabeth moved out of the way. We turned around and faced the other way. "I'll help Drew." said Annabeth. She walked down the first two steps and got Drew's attention.

"Why are you helping me?" Drew asked lazily. Annaebth helped her stand up. The two began to slowly make their way to the Aphrodite cabin. "Because everyone needs a friends they can trust and rely on." said Annabeth. Drew looked away from her.

"You know this doesn't mean I like you or anything." she mumbled. Jason and I smirked.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." said Annabeth. I could tell she was smiling. As they walked away, my attention was half on Nico and Malcolm and half on the sky. It was a clear night so the stars were shining bright.

"So, why did you do this if you knew it was spiked?" Nico asked Malcolm.

"I... I didn't know until I felt sick." he sighed.

"Oh."

"I- I did it because I- I was- I was scared."

"What were you scared of?"

There was a pause of silence. "Y-you..." said Malcolm. I could picture him blushing like crazy. "But-but not for the reasons you're thinking." he said quickly.

"What?" said Nico.

"I- I-" Malcolm took in a deep breath again. "I l-like you. A lot. I- I just..." he trailed off and gave out a sigh filled with angst.

"Hey. Look at me," Nico said calmly and gently, "you don't have to be scared anymore." Jason, Katie and I smiled. _Finally!_ "Now we should probably get you back to your cabin." said Nico. "Can you stand?" As we turned around, Malcolm nodded. I had to hand it to him- he could hold his licker pretty good for a first time drinker. Not too many people can do that. I mean I did- but that's just me.

"No. I like air." said Malcolm.

"Okay. We'll go somewhere quieter then." said Nico. Wait. What?

"NO! I JUST CLEANED EVERYWHERE!" I shouted. There was a pause of silence as all eyes landed on me.

Then Jason and Katie both slapped me hard on the head.

"I mean do what you want I don't care." I mumbled and turned around and stared at the sky. Katie leaned against me which made me blush. Not that I liked her or anything! Jason smirked at me and I looked away. "He's just miffed because he's gotta clean up vomit tomorrow." she slurred. She probably didn't really know what she was saying even though it was somewhat true.

"Come on, let's get you back to the cabin." I said.

"Hm. I do want to go back and check on my friends..." said Jason. He opened the door a crack. We instantly saw another teenager barf. Katie and Malcolm looked away, both looking pale. "But you know I think I'll call it a night. Good night guys!" said Jason as he walked away. He then turned around again. "And feel better!" he said as he pointed at Malcolm and Katie. The two of them just sort of groaned in response. I think they were trying to say 'yeah' or something like that. I was suddenly feeling very tired.

As we walked, Nico broke the silence. "I wonder who spiked the stuff." he said.

"I have a feeling it was either Luke- or Mr. D trying to have fun with something he can't have." I laughed. Nico chuckled.

"You know they could have teamed up." said Nico. We stopped for a second and looked at each other.

"Nah!"

After I put to bed, I went back to my cabin. I. Was. Tired! I opened the door slightly to find that Mitchell hadn't left yet. He was sitting on my brother's bed watching over him. I smiled and so didn't want to Britta their- er- _ruin_ their moment. Uh, yeah, Katie made me watch Community with her and Lacy. Long story. Anyway, Mitch was holding Connor's left hand with his right, and played with his hair with his other hand. Connor also looked very calm and at peace, and just- happy! I really did _not_ want to ruin this, but, I was SO EXHAUSTED! I felt bad for having to kick Mitch out.

I knocked gently on the door. Mitchell looked up and smiled. "Oh uh, he woke up when I put him down and asked me to stay." he said quietly. He smiled down at Connor. He then kissed him on the cheek and stood up. "I suppose this means you're together now?" I asked with a smile. Mitchell smiled.

"I'll ask him when he's actually awake." he chuckled. "Oh is Mal alright?" I smiled at the memory that played in my mind.

"Oh yeah. He's fine." I said with a knowing smile. Mitch smiled knowingly as well and headed for the outdoors. "Well, good night. You'll need a good sleep for tomorrow!" he said with a laugh. I sighed remembering why. "Yeah whatever good night." I mumbled. Mitchell just laughed and left for his cabin. I decided not to bother with changing, and just climbed into my oh so soft bed. Before I laid down though, I just happened to notice that my brother was wearing pajamas. I snorted and smirked. He couldn't have changed by himself when he was _that_ tired. I laid back and sadly braced myself for the next day...

_La Fin!_ :D

**A/N**: Another chapter done! Uh, again, sorry for the waits on all of my stories!

Holy crap guys! This was FOURTEEN and A HALF pages in my word processor! Plus this author's note. That's as much as a forty-five minute episode of a tv show! Minus the author's note. Lol... I should know I've written out Merlin episodes as some of you might know... lol. I'm proud of this one.

****PLEASE READ****

**By the way, do you guys want a short summary of the chapter before you read it, or should I just keep doing it this way? Just wondering. :)**

**And don't forget that you can suggest couples! (Again, just not- Per- uh, nah. I think you get it, right?) ;)... um, you **_**should**_** anyways...**

R & R please!


	7. Insert Quote Here

*PLEASE READ* Well. I got to say that the amount of reviews I got on the last chapter was... disappointing. (I got 0?!) Come on guys, I worked hard on that one... and this one. Which is about the same length. Actually this is a couple pages longer. (I will try not to make them _that_ long though.) I DO know that these _do_ have readers. I've checked the stats people! Honest. Is it good or not good enough? (Just saying it's bad doesn't help much does it?) So, with that in mind... carry on.

Just note that _everyone_ is single in this chapter... at first (hint, hint. Lol) Oh, and I've also decided to use quotes for some of the titles when I can't come up with anything good. SO, because they'll be longer than the space provided for titles, obviously it'll just- wait. Do I really have to explain this?

...Nah.

Oh, and Reyna may be a little OOC in here... I think. I'm not actually sure.

Enjoy!

"_I know this is war, but the rest of us are trying to pretend it's a party."_ - Kristin Cashore, Fire (Graceling Realm, #2)

(**A/N**: Uh, just so you know, apparently Graceling Realm is a fantasy...ish book series... that I've never heard of. I just looked it up and found it out lol. I might read it someday. To think I found the books because I Googled 'funny fancy party quotes' lol! :P I just thought it fit perfectly. :D ...Oh the stuff you find on Google.)

**Malcolm's POV**

Annabeth was in a state of panic. They were suppose to be ready in about hours! Malcolm was doing his absolute best to try and calm her down. It didn't help much. "Malcolm! We need something for the people to eat at this party! Do you _know _many people will be there?!" shrieked Annabeth.

"Every single camper. Plus the gods and goddesses, and our mortal parents." Either Annabeth didn't hear him or she was trying to make a point.

"Every single camper! Plus the GODS AND GODDESSES! AND OUR MORTAL PARENTS! Well, everyone else's mortal parents." she shouted. She paced about in front of the door to the Big House. They were suppose to have a meeting with the small amount of campers they could find that wanted- or were forced- to help out. Those people being, Percy, Rachel, Luke, Will, Travis, and Reyna. "Look, we can sit here and panic, or we can go in there and discuss what they have to cook!" Malcolm said seriously. He hated it when his sister was like this. It didn't help anything did it? Annabeth sighed and tried to calm herself down. When she seemed ready, the two siblings entered the Big House and headed for the meeting room.

When they entered, Percy and Luke were in a deep conversation about swords, Travis was writing something in a notepad- no doubt another prank- Reyna was on her cell phone, and Rachel and Will were playing Tic-Tac-Toe. Malcolm stared at the people his sister had gathered. It was a weird mixture that was for sure. They were all sitting around a large circle table, with Reyna to his left, Will squished in between her and Rachel, Travis was beside Rachel on her other side, and he was followed by Luke and Percy. There were only two seats left which were for him and Annabeth. Personally, he didn't want to sit beside Reyna because- now he's never said this out loud- she and Will intimidated him. Sure, Annabeth had said that Reyna was nice, but he'd only hung out with her when he was with his sister, and neither meeting went all that well for him. Plus, he'd seen her battle other campers before. It was kind of frightening. As for Will- he was just _so_ cocky! He was so cocky, confident, arrogant, hot and- um, not that he noticed! Malcolm could feel himself start to blush and looked away from Will. He calmed down once he saw that no one had noticed. Annabeth was looking at her clipboard, and the others didn't even notice that they were there!

Annabeth finished up with her clipboard and glanced at him. He nodded, and she cleared her throat, getting the other's attention. "Alright. I suppose you're wondering why we brought you here." said Annabeth.

"Actually I was wondering where one would get neon paint- for no particular reason... ah hem. Carry on." said Travis. "Please." He realized that all eyes were on him and everyone was giving him a weird look. He put away his notepad and focussed on what was actually important. "Anyway. As you know the Great Feast is coming up and we have a bit of an issue." said Annabeth. Malcolm almost snorted. She made it sound like it _wasn't_ a big deal. "That issue being-" he started, but Will cut him off.

"You've got no one to cook the food." he finished. Everyone gasped. If they weren't focussing before- they were now. "It's called _The Great Feast!_ How could it be a 'great feast' without food?" asked Travis. Malcolm was about to say something, when Will spoke. Man did he hate being cut off!

"He has a point. Why would something that important get left this late?" he asked. The fact that he cut Malcolm off wasn't what bugged him. Will was looking straight at _him_. Sure, he was about to say something, but that didn't excuse the fact that the son of Apollo kept staring at him _the entire time_. Malcolm cleared his throat. "Well, at the last minute in case you haven't heard, all of our original cooks got the flue, and Hazel and Nico are away. So now we need someone _else._" he answered smoothly. _"That's it. Play it cool."_ Will's smirk went unnoticed by everyone else.

"So with that said, do any of you know how to cook?" asked Annabeth. Everyone except Rachel and Reyna laughed. Annabeth and Malcolm glanced at each other awkwardly and then the laughter died down. "Oh. Wait. You're serious?" said Luke. Again- awkward. Then Rachel raised her hand. "Uh, yes Rachel, you can cook?" said Malcolm.

"Yeah I have a question?" she said.

"Of course you do."

"Does grilled cheese and canned soup count?"

"Uh... no."

"Oh then no."

Malcolm could tell that Annabeth was getting more frustrated. "Uh, hey Percy, you said you mother taught you how to cook right?" he said.

"Uhm, but you just canned grilled cheese and soup so..."

Everybody rolled their eyes at his lame attempt at a joke. "Alright. With our understandings of the mortal kitchen in a restaurant, you guys can probably make something up." said Annabeth. She looked at Malcolm to continue.

"Okay. So first we need to assign a head chef- uh, yes Will, you're volunteering?" he said. He tried to not let his voice crack when he said his name. Will rested his hand on the table. "Yeah I have a question?" he said. Malcolm sighed inwardly.

"Of course you do."

"Just out of curiosity, will you be watching over us to make sure we don't uh, well, mess up? Because I'm sure with our history with cooking- it's bound to happen." he said. Again, Will was only looking at _Malcolm_. He didn't even glance at Annabeth. _"Play it cool."_ he thought again. He cleared his throat that had, at some point, become dry. "Um, no. Annabeth and I have to check out the new hall to see if it's ready for the party." he said. He couldn't exactly understand the expression on Will's face. "Uh, but one of us will see how you're doing every once in a while." he finished. Will's expression seemed to... lighten up? Malcolm desperately tried to hide the blush that was appearing on his face. _"Play. It. Cool."_ he thought. He wished Will wasn't distracting him so much!

"We also need to decide on what to cook for the appetizers, main course, and desserts." said Annabeth. "We should also have two options for the main course because obviously not everyone likes the same things." Travis raised his hand.

"Yes Travis, you have an idea?" asked Malcolm.

"Yeah I have a question?"

"Of course you do."

"Where in the Hades is Connor?"

"Uh, well, he gave us the slip when we tried to find him while we were looking for you and Luke." shrugged Malcolm.

"He'll regret weaselling his way out of this one." Travis said ominously. Malcolm raised an eyebrow, but carried on.

"Um, yeah. Okay, so I guess we'll let you guys figure out who's in charge-"

"Ooh me!" shouted Rachel as her hand shot up in the air. The other guys groaned, particularly Travis and Luke.

"Please don't let her be in charge." whined Travis. "It'll be torture!"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare you're in charge." said Malcolm. Rachel clapped and "woo-hoo'd." Travis and Luke groaned again as the other three smirked. Rachel just looked like she won the lottery. "I- Come on!" whined Travis. "You're just peeved because of the prank we pulled on you this morning." Malcolm gave him a look.

"Well _yeah._"

Travis sighed, and Rachel giggled a mischievous laugh and rubbed her hands together. If _that_ didn't look suspicious, Malcolm didn't know what did.

"Uh, alright then... moving on-" before Malcolm could continue, Annabeth interrupted him.

"I just got a text from Lacy saying that the other waiters and waitresses backed out and it's just her left!" she shouted. Malcolm's eyes widened. Annabeth looked like she might explode with panic. "What? Wh- uh, Annabeth, calm down!" he said as calmly as he could. It wasn't easy with Will watching his every move. What was he, a critic or something? His sister was now hyperventilating. Not good. Looking around, Malcolm spotted a mug of water sitting on the table. He grabbed it and splashed it on his sister, careful not to get the clipboard wet. She stopped and stared at him.

"Uh, that's not water." said Luke. Malcolm glanced at the mug in his hand and looked at him questioningly. "Also, it was here when we got here." said Will. Malcolm glanced at him and instantly put the mug down. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he looked at his sister, who was giving him a weird look. "Yeah it's not water." she sighed. But, the good part was that she was calm again.

"Um... s-sorry." Malcolm said quietly, his face a light shade of pink. Annabeth nodded. Will smirked at Malcolm and the light shade of pink on his face became a bit darker.

"But, in any event, you guys will now serve as well." she finished.

"Oooooh ho-ho... I know how to get Connor back now..." smiled Travis. He gave a short mischievous laugh. Luke shared a smirk along with him. They were- or have- devised a plan no doubt.

"Uh, alright then..." said Malcolm. "So now we just have to figure out what to make. Uh, yes Percy you have a suggestion?"

"Yeah I have a question?" Malcolm wanted to punch something. What, ever since Rachel answered him like that did they all just plan this or something?!

"Of course you do." said Malcolm. He tried not to sound irked, but it was hard. Percy suddenly looked nervous. He didn't do a good job at hiding his annoyance, did he? "Um, I was just wondering... uh, how many people are we cooking for-exactly?" he asked. That was actually a good question. Sadly, being so busy, the two Athena children didn't have time to think about it. Malcolm quickly calculated the numbers in his big brain. "Uh, about four-hundred-forty-six." he said confidently. Subconsciously, his eyes shifted from Percy to Will for a split second. Why was Malcolm feeling nervous? It was probably just because he had been staring at him the entire time. He wasn't use to being stared at for a long period of time. In fact, he was more use to getting glanced at more than anything. When Annabeth claimed him as her second-in-command, he was a little nervous. On the plus side, Will seemed impressed.

"Wait. Did you do that in your head just now?" he asked. Malcolm nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment. Just as Malcolm received a new amount of confidence, all of it shot out the window because of one comment Reyna made.

"Yeah all Min- Athena's children can do it. It's nothing really all that special."

Malcolm's face became red and Annabeth shot her a questioning, slash warning look. Reyna, noticing how the room suddenly became awkwardly quiet, looked up at her. Will stared at Reyna, and Travis and Luke glanced at each other. Percy just kind of... looked shocked? Malcolm wasn't sure how to describe the look on his face. Poseidon's son just sat there quietly and didn't make a sound. Along with the others. Reyna opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. That actually gave Malcolm the impression that she didn't mean to say it out loud, and that she was surprised she did- which he understood. But that didn't change the fact that she did.

Thankfully Annabeth continued, seeing as Malcolm no longer could for the time being. "So. Uh, now we need to think about the food. I mean, like, what should we make? Any ideas?" she asked. Luke raised his hand.

"_Oh boy. Here it comes."_ thought Malcolm.

"Yes, Luke, you have a suggestion?"

"Yeah I have a question?"

Annabeth sighed and closed her eyes for a second. No one except Will and Percy noticed the pencil snap in two in Malcolm's hand. Yep. There it is. "Of _course_ you do." Annabeth said, clearly annoyed.

"Actually I think this is a fairly good question." said Luke. Annabeth gestured for him to continue. "What about the people with food allergies?" Huh. That actually _was_ a good question. Annabeth and Malcolm glanced at each other. "Mm, we'll have to make something for them too. Only about half though, because it's not like _everyone_ will be allergic to stuff right?" she said. Although, she seemed a little unsure. "Um, maybe you and I could talk to each cabin about it and write down the ingredients some people can't have." she said. Malcolm nodded.

So after the group had _finally_ decided on what to make, Rachel led them out of the room so they could pick up their ingredients. They needed everyone, because well... it was a _lot_ of ingredients. Malcolm sighed as the last person, that being Annabeth, left. He sat himself down in one of the chairs and buried his face in his hands. When did he get so tired? He figured that the stress was getting to him. Sure, he wasn't the greatest speaker, in fact he always got really nervous, but up until Reyna's comment he thought he was doing so well. He sighed and rested his chin on his folded arms. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, that he didn't notice when Will walked back in.

"Uh, hey." said Will.

**Will's POV**

Malcolm nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard him. "Um, sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Um, are you uh, okay?" he asked cautiously. Malcolm basically looked a little nervous and confused. He nodded in response. That was an obvious lie, but Will didn't point it out. "Uh, I'm sorry about Reyna. If it helps we all gave her heck for that." Will said. Malcolm glanced up at him. He gave a shy smile and his cheeks became tinted with redness. _"Hm, cute."_ thought Will. Suddenly Will smiled widely and that only made the other boy blush more, and look away. Will took the other boy's smile as an invitation to sit down, so he did. After a few seconds, Malcolm had found his voice again.

"U-um, thank you." he said quietly. He cleared his throat and smiled again. This time it made Will's heart skip a beat. Then he realized he'd been staring and making Malcolm uncomfortable. "You know the first time I had to do public speaking, I nearly fainted while walking up to take my position." he laughed. He didn't really know why he was telling this story, but he figured it might make Malcolm feel better about what happened during the meeting. The boy gave a nervous chuckle. "Really?" he asked.

"Ha, yep. The worst part? Someone from the audience asked _very loudly_, 'Is he okay?' I was thirteen, so of course at the time I was mortified." laughed Will. This time Malcolm seemed more relaxed and laughed along with him.

"Yeah it's um, not really my strong suit. I guess being a good public speaker is not something you can inherit from your parents." said Malcolm. Will chuckled. Suddenly Malcolm sighed. "What's up?" asked Will, although he wasn't sure he should be asking.

"I- I have to give a welcoming speech after everyone arrives because our original speaker got a bad case of stage fright and had to back out." he said quietly. His voice also cracked a couple of times. Will gave him a surprised look. "Wait. Why you if-"

"Drew used her Charmspeak because she didn't want to do it either. Otherwise, it _would_ be her. No one else would do it. Of course Annabeth realized that and she argued with her afterwards, but it didn't resolve anything. Piper is visiting her father, so she can't exactly help." said Malcolm. Will stared at him. He suddenly used a very colourful swear word, and Malcolm looked at him a bit shocked. "That damn- Drew needs to learn that she can't get what she wants all the time!" Will nearly shouted. Needless to say, Malcolm was surprised at his sudden outburst. "Uh, sorry. If you couldn't tell, I kind of... _really_ don't like her... for lack of better words." Will muttered. Malcolm nodded.

"Yeah I uh, I kind of figured that." he replied.

"I know she likes to make people do things they don't want to do, but this is low even for her. Hm...we need to get her back."

"Oh no. I'm not one for revenge."

"I mean show her up at the party." said Will. Malcolm thought on it for a few seconds. He then gave Will a confused look. "Um, okay, how?" he asked. Will smirked and really liked the way it made Malcolm blush and stare at him with his big grey eyes. Will never really had liked the _shade_ (it's not a colour technically,) grey. But he realized that he could get easily lost in Malcolm's eyes.

"Easy." Will paused for dramatic effect. He also put a hand on Malcolm's shoulder. "We'll make you one of the greatest speakers ever." Malcolm smiled at him. "And we'll also get you a punching bag so you won't have to take your anger out on anymore pencils." he finished. Malcolm blushed and glanced at his broken pencil on the table. Will chuckled at his reaction. He wanted his 'revenge' on Drew for making Malcolm do this thing. And when Will wanted something, he got it. He also knew that he wanted a certain son of Athena...

**LINE**

Will ran to catch up to Rachel and the others. They were almost at the Camp's entrance. He ran up to the group and trailed behind. Travis glanced back. "It's about time. What, you stay back to flirt with Malcolm?" he laughed. Will expertly hid the blush on his face. He smirked at Travis. "Yeah, what you jealous?" he laughed back. Travis snorted.

"Ha! Yeah right. But seriously, what's up?"

"Well, the guy needed _some_ confidence after Reyna's comment." said Will. Reyna looked back at him.

"Look, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say that I- the guy's being too sensitive!" she said.

"Which is why _you_ should be sensitive Reyna." said Will.

"Arg! I'm sorry!"

"You should be, apparently he's gotta give the welcoming speech at the party." said Will. At this, Percy looked at him.

"Wait. What? I thought that Lisa was going to-"

"Stage fright. Had to back out. And Drew being Drew, she used her Charmspeak on Malcolm. With Piper away, they couldn't really stop her. Annabeth tried to reason with her, but of course that didn't work." explained Will.

"Ah damn it Drew! Man I hate her!" shouted Travis. Everyone looked at him. "I hope you have a plan to get back at her." he said. Will smirked and nodded.

"Oh yeah. She's not getting away with this. But uh, Malcolm wasn't too keen on revenge, so don't tell him that I have a plan okay?" he said. Everyone nodded. They stopped just a few feet short of the entrance next to the large Pine tree. They sighed when they saw the man-bull walk by not far away. "There has to be a better exit. Luke? Travis? Any ideas?" Percy asked. Hermes' sons gave him a look of disbelief. Percy shrugged. "What?"

"Well I am _shocked_ that you would automatically think that we-" started Travis, but Reyna cut him off.

"You know another exit or not?"

"Yes ma'am follow us." Travis said quickly and the two sons of Hermes' began to lead the way.

In no time they came to- an entrance to the main sewer system? "Ew! No. No way!" said Rachel. "This is a new shirt, I will not have it tarnished. It may sound shallow, but it was made personally for me." Percy looked at her.

"You made it."

"Yeah. Hence the term _personally_."

"Whatever! Look, there was a better smelling entrance, but Mr. D found it and blocked it off. It was his way of trying to prevent us from sneaking out of Camp unnoticed." said Luke.

"By 'us' you mean you and your siblings?" asked Rachel.

"Yeah, I mean, who else has a need to sneak out of Camp unnoticed? Well, besides Nico, but he's got a power that Mr. D can't get control over. Man, I wish I had that power. Besides, this one will work better because the stench will overpower our demigod smell that the monsters find so attractive." said Travis. He had a good point there. That Bull-man was just waiting out there for them.

"Alright let's quiet yackin' and let's start crap divin'." said Rachel. She rolled up the sleeves to her shirt.

Thankfully, once they were in there, there were platforms that they could walk on. Sadly the smell was absolutely horrid. Malcolm definitely owed Will one. "You realize that we'll all have to shower twice before we cook anything." said Reyna.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got that." said Travis. "Sneaking out has it's downfalls."

"Wait. Is this why you, Luke and Connor sometimes smell weird?" asked Rachel. Hermes' sons sighed. "Huh, I thought you guys just smelled weird. Who knew there would be a reason for it?" laughed Rachel. Will, Reyna and Percy couldn't help but laugh.

"Rachel?" said Travis.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Hades no! Malcolm made me the head chef, so I hope you like my voice!" was the response. Her response was an aggravated sigh. Will began to see why Malcolm made her the head chef- this was fun. Will didn't mind Rachel, and he knew she would really only be bugging the other three guys, but mainly Travis and Luke. Will liked the fact that although Malcolm wasn't very big on revenge, he sure got his on Travis.

Suddenly one of the guys let out a yelp of surprise... alright, it was more of a shriek. They all stopped and stared at Travis, who was in the lead. "U-uhm, sorry- it-it's uh, nothing." he replied. That was weird. Luke snorted. "Just a rat. Ha-" he laughed. Travis punched him in the arm. "Ha ow!" Even though it was dark and hard to see, it wasn't hard to spot the dark blush that appeared on Travis' face. Percy and Will laughed. They kept walking.

"Wait a second. Is that why whenever we have to use this, you go alone?" asked Luke. "So we won't hear you shriek in fear?"

"NO! N-no, you guys just slow me down... is all."

"Harsh. You know Connor would be hurt if he heard that."

"Which is why he's not going to is he?"

"Fine. But if he does, I'll tell him about your Musophobia."

For a few seconds Travis didn't say anything. "Which is why he's _not_ going to is he?" he said. Luke sighed.

"Are you two really arguing about this? And where are we going?" asked Rachel. Clearly she was annoyed.

"Yes, and we're going to the place Connor and I go to when we want food that we can't have at camp. It's got all kinds of weird stuff. Our father is partners with the owner, which is why we can go there at anytime." said Travis. "Oh and the owner of the store knows about our world. He's actually part- you're never gonna guess."

"Can't be nymph."

"Ogre?"

"Bull-Man?"

"Butterfly?"

Everyone stopped and looked at Percy. "What? If we're never gonna guess it, then we might as well think outside the box." he shrugged. Everybody just shrugged and kept walking. "Uh, no. he's- actually nah. I'll leave that for you guys to find out." said Travis. Everybody but Luke sighed.

"Okay, up this latter, and we're in the spray building." said Luke. Will gave him a curious look as he started to climb the latter.

"Uh, spray building?" asked Will.

"Uh Will? We're coming out of the sewers." said Travis as he started to climb up after his sibling. Will sighed, along with Rachel.

"Don't remind me." she sighed. She glanced down at her shirt and frowned as she began to climb up. When everyone was up the latter, they came into a white empty room. The tiled floor was patterned black and white. "Quick, stand on a black tile!" shouted Luke. Everyone did so.

As soon as they did, an electronic female voice echoed through the room. _"Disinfectant Spray- on."_

"Disinfectant?" asked Will.

"Close you eyes and mouth!" said Travis. Everyone did so. Suddenly drops of a clear liquid fell from the ceiling. The newcomers winced a little as the liquid stung their skin a bit. They weren't exactly expecting that to happen. It would have been a nice heads up. Will figured that Hermes' sons would probably get an earful from Rachel, and possibly Reyna afterwards. The electronic voice came back on.

"_Clean spray- on."_

The next 'spray' only felt like water or something. Or at least- it didn't sting like the disinfectant. Nevertheless, Will still kept his eyes and mouth shut. Unlike Percy. "Uh, this feels like it's just water. But it feels _off_..." he said.

"Then keep your mouth shut." Luke said quickly. Percy did so. So, it wasn't _just_ water after all. It couldn't have been. Maybe there was soap mixed in with it? Then the spray stopped after a few more seconds. "Okay. Now step on a white tile." said Travis.

"_Air-dry- on."_

"Still keep your eyes and mouth closed." said Luke.

A suddenly blast of hot air shot up from the edges of the tile. It was hot enough to sting a bit! That also would have been a nice warning. In about three seconds, it was done and they were as dry as a bone. "Okay. It's done- OW!" shouted Travis. Rachel and Reyna both punched him on each arm.

"That was for not warning us about the sting we'd get!" yelled Rachel. The two girls walked off into the store. Travis sighed. "I'm gonna pay for that later." he mumbled. The other guys followed him into the store.

"Okay. Who's got the list?" asked Rachel.

"Here." Travis handed her a small notepad. She quickly skimmed it over. Then she frowned. She was probably hoping that it'd be the notepad he had earlier that day. Of course, it wasn't.

"Okay. Reyna, Will and Percy you find these..." she said and she scribbled the ingredients down and handed the piece of paper to Reyna. "And Luke, Travis and I will get the other stuff. Good luck team!" said Rachel.

"I think she's taking this 'head chef' thing too seriously." muttered Luke. Percy snickered, and they split up into their groups.

"Right. Okay, the first thing we need for the appetizer is- oregano." said Reyna.

"Got it." said Will, he placed the ingredient into the basket she was carrying.

"Next is salt."

"Got it." Percy placed it in the basket.

"So, Will," Reyna said casually, "Malcolm?" Will looked at her oddly.

"Uh, what about him? Here's the lemon juice." said Will. Percy snorted and then cleared his throat.

"Uh, here's the spinach." he said and went to find the next ingredient. Reyna chuckled, which made Will even more confused.

"I um, didn't know you liked brainiacs." said Reyna. Much to Will's pleasure, Percy came back just in time to hear that. He smiled as he placed the black pepper in the basket. "What do you mean?" he asked. He tried not to let his worry show. He hasn't exactly told anyone his... secret yet. Why was he so confident in the theory that no one saw what he was doing at the meeting? "Well for one, the way you kept staring at Malcolm gave us a hint." said Percy. Will didn't know how great a job he was doing at hiding his blush. This wasn't exactly how he'd planned on coming out. The first persons he planned on talking to were his siblings, Kayla and Jack- but it looked like that plan is out of question. "Hey it's okay, we're fine with it. In fact, we've been trying to get Connor and Nico together for months now." Reyna gave out a frustrated sigh. "They just won't get it!"

"They will, I promise we won't have to be blunt!" said Percy. This information pretty much shocked Will into silence. Connor and Nico? Really? Who knew? Up until this point, Will had considered himself to be the only one that was gay at camp. He even didn't think Malcolm was until the meeting that day!

"Uh, Will? You okay?" asked Reyna. Will cleared his throat and nodded.

"Uh, yeah. I just- for the longest time I thought I was the only one..." he said. The other two gave him sympathetic looks. "Oh yeah, and by 'we' Reyna meant... mm, pretty much the entire camp. Well, except for Drew of course. She couldn't care less." laughed Percy. The other two chuckled.

"Wow. I can't believe I've never noticed. Wait. That's why everyone seems to leave those two alone every once in a while!" Will realized. Reyna laughed.

"Yup. We leave them alone either in a room, or outside somewhere... _romantic_- about... three times a month? But they just don't get _any_ of it! It's annoying me like crazy!" Reyna sighed. Percy chuckled.

Suddenly they heard the same shriek Travis gave earlier. They all jumped and spun their heads in the direction they heard the sound.

"That was weird. There wouldn't be any rodents in here, would there?" asked Will. They all shrugged. Perhaps Travis had more fears then he let on. Awe heck, everyone did.

"Okay, the next ingredient is feta cheese." said Percy

"Got it." said Will.

"Olive Oil."

"Got it." said Reyna.

"Uh, red bell pepper."

"Got it." said Will."

"Hm- puff pastry shells, frozen. Gees this dyslexia." Percy blinked a few times and squinted at the paper. "Rachel's hand writing isn't the best." he mumbled to himself.

"Got it." said Reyna.

"Uh... latakma Lasydin Greek veilos."

"Eh?"

"Damn this dyslexia." said Percy.

"Lindsay Greek kalamata olives. Doofus. Why are _you _reading it?" asked Reyna. Percy shrugged. Reyna took the paper back from him. "Hey, you weren't, so I did. I did a good job up until that last one! I think Rachel needs to practice writing a bit-"

"No I don't!" came a shout. The other jumped and turned around to see that the other group had finished. "You guys done yet?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah we just need to get the-" Reyna interrupted Percy.

"Lindsay Greek kalamata olives."

"Hey I would have said it right!" said Percy. The other two snorted and he sighed.

"Alright whatever, let's go back." Travis said. He seemed really irked for some reason. His face was also red.

"Okay, what's with you?" Percy asked with a small laugh.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Travis mumbled. He grabbed their basket of ingredients and went to pay after he found the olives. Luke waited until he was out of earshot, and snickered. "The uh, the pet store near by- oh uh, there's a window on that wall there, anyways- they got new animals in today." he laughed. The others soon chimed in with their laughter. As soon as Travis returned though, the laughter died down. They hurried after Travis who'd picked up some speed while passing them. He probably just wanted to escape the laughter. He shouldn't be too ashamed though, a lot of people fear rodents just like a lot of people fear spiders.

With that thought in mind, Will was instantly reminded of Malcolm and _his_ fear of spiders. As well as his fear of public speaking. So although poking fun at Travis is fun, he really wanted to get back and help Malcolm out. Hopefully they'll be able to pull this off and show Drew up at the party.

After a long trudge through the sewers again, the group made their way to their destinations. Those being, the kitchen to drop off their ingredients- and the showers.

"_I wonder how often I can make Malcolm blush like an idiot." _though Will as he made his way through the camp. He smiled as at the thought.

**Malcolm's POV**

Malcolm sighed and rubbed his eyes. He'd been going over his speech all afternoon, and he _still_ couldn't get it right! He really hoped Will could be his saviour. If there was a time that Malcolm needed a knight in shining armour, it would be now. So he prayed to the gods that Will would be that guy. Malcolm sighed again and laid back on his bed. He was so lost in his thoughts that he just barely heard the cabin door open.

"Malcolm?" it was Will. Malcolm heard his footsteps walk over to his side.

"I can't do it." said Malcolm.

"What? Come on, you can do it! We've just got to practice. I know you can do this Mal." said Will. Malcolm didn't look at him. He felt Will kneel down beside him. "You _can_. I know it." he said. Malcolm sighed. Will reached over him and grabbed the piece of paper from his hand. The sudden contact made Malcolm blush and have Harpies fly around in his stomach. He prayed that Will didn't notice. Will's hand unclenched Malcolm's, and he released the paper. Malcolm's hand felt all tingly after. Will read it over a couple of times. After he did that, he smiled.

"Okay, if I ever have to present a speech, could you write it?" Will asked. At this, Malcolm looked at him. "What?" said Will.

"Well... you're a son of Apollo." was all that Malcolm said. Will laughed.

"And you're a son of Athena."

Malcolm had to laugh. "And you have much better grammar, and you know big, smart sounding words." laughed Will.

"Well..." Malcolm said sheepishly, "I'm a son of Athena."

The two laughed some more, and Will stood up and brushed himself off. Not that the Athena cabin was messy or dirty in any way. Malcolm just noticed that it was a thing he did often. Actually because of his... secret, Malcolm noticed a lot of things about Will. However, with that sudden thought in mind, and Will smiling, Malcolm could feel himself blush all over again. Gods he probably looked like an idiot! Will held out his hand.

"Come on, we've got work to do." he said. Malcolm sighed once more, grabbed his hand, and he got pulled up into a sitting position. Then he realized something.

"Hey. Shouldn't you be with Rachel and them cooking?" he asked. Will shrugged and laughed... and smiled. _"Oh Gods- that smile! Stop it Malcolm! You're acting like a freakin' school girl!"_ he thought.

"You'd _think_ I would be, but I have to balance spending time with you and them somehow. Ah they probably won't even notice I'm gone." said Will.

**Percy's POV**

All the cooks gathered in the Big House's kitchen. All were sporting a white chef's coat, and hats. Rachel's of course was slightly taller than everyone else's. She made a grab for it the moment she saw it.

"Alright team-" Rachel said as she turned around. "Where's Will?" she asked with a smack of her lips. Percy and Luke glanced at each other. They said that they'd cover for him if Rachel noticed he was gone. Sadly, they hadn't thought of anything good yet. "Well?" said Rachel. It wasn't hard to see that she was annoyed.

"Uh..." said Percy. Crap! Why did he say that?

"Percy? You know?"

She gave him a look that gave Percy the idea she would go and give Will hell for skipping out on them on the first day. He wondered what her expression would be once she saw him with Malcolm. The very person that put her in charge.

"Percy?" Rachel's voice snapped Percy out of his thoughts and back into reality. Right. He was answering her question. A question he didn't even _have_ the answer to! How could he be so stupid? _Thankfully,_ Luke saved him.

"He's just helping out in the infirmary, he'll be here soon." he said. Rachel nodded and went back to ordering everyone around. Once that was settled, and everyone was distracted, Percy shot Luke a 'thank you' smile. In return, Luke winked and smiled back. Percy tried to hide the blush on his face. Things had better go well from then on.

If only they knew just how long 'soon' would be.

**Malcolm's POV**

A few days later, one night away from the party date, Malcolm and Annabeth found their team of cooks sitting on the kitchen floor looking utterly exhausted. "Alright, you guys have everything ready and packaged?" asked Annabeth. She received a series of moans that sort of sounded like 'yeah' all around. Malcolm finally looked up from his clipboard after checking the packages, and surveyed the scene in front of him.

Rachel and Reyna were leaning against Travis on either side of him, and Percy and Will were leaning against Luke. Malcolm tried not to think about the horrible feeling that came about because of the way Will had his head tilted on Luke's shoulder.

"Okay. So, do you guys know what you're doing tomorrow night?" asked Annabeth.

She got the same reply.

"Hey, on a side note, you guys know what you're wearing, right? It's semi formal, so you can't-"

Annabeth got interrupted by the same reply.

Suddenly Travis chuckled. "Oh we know. We _know_..." he said ominously. Malcolm then had a theory as to what his revenge on Connor might be. Connor may regret skipping out on the dinner preparations.

"RAT!" screamed Rachel. Both Annabeth and Malcolm jumped at the sudden outburst. Travis suddenly gave a loud shriek, jumped, and bumped his head on the counter's edge. "Ah ha-ha! Get's me every time!" snorted Rachel. That was weird. Wait. Did that mean that Travis had Musophobia? Huh. Malcolm would never have guessed that in his life. He and Annabeth glanced at each other.

"Oh right. You two weren't there. Well-" began Luke, but Travis interrupted him.

"They shall not know!" he shouted.

"They don't know, Connor _does_ know!"

There was a pause of silence. Travis sighed as he rubbed the soar spot on his head. "Fine. But you two. NO ONE MUST KNOW. Got it?" he said. The two of them nodded.

"He's got Musophobia." said Will.

"You've just earned yourself a prank my friend." muttered Travis.

"Oh come on, we won't make fun of you." said Annabeth.

"Thanks." sighed Travis.

"We'll laugh, but we won't make fun of you." said Malcolm. Travis gave him a weird look. "I mean we won't make fun of you like Rachel." with that said, they both laughed and Travis sighed again.

"Oh hey a rat." said Reyna. She sat up straight and looked down.

"Ha-ha." Travis said sarcastically. Then Rachel pointed in front of him to his left. "Oh ****!" he shouted and instantly stood up. There was indeed, a rat. This time everyone (except him,) laughed. The rat crawled over to Rachel. "Awe." she cooed.

"No. Not 'awe', not cute. _Ugly_. It's a _rat_. What are you doing?" asked Travis. Rachel now had the rat in her hands. "You know they carry diseases!"

Rachel scoffed. "Dude, relax, I think this is someone's pet."

"What? How. Are you in cahoots with the enemy?"

"No I- cahoots?" said Rachel. Travis shrugged. "Anyway, it's got a teeny-tiny yellow collar on it ya doof. See?" she held the rat closer to his face. He tried to squirm away, but Reyna blocked him.

"Yeah- yeah I see." he said. Rachel didn't move. "I'm _done_ seeing." Rachel sighed and brought the rat closer to her.

"Wimp." she muttered. Reyna snickered and the all gave her an odd look.

"_Enemy_. Come on, Travis vs the rat." she said. Rachel handed her the rat. Rachel held Travis in place so he couldn't move, and Reyna stood up brought the rat closer to his face. Travis squirmed but Rachel grabbed his arms. "Rat wins. Gees, relax," Rachel sang, "besides, we're helping you with your fear. Hey, you know, I've never really understood why people are afraid of these wittle guys! Ooh, maybe this could be a great study! Reyna you in?"

"Totally!"

"No. No you are _not_. Get away from me." said Travis, he shoved Rachel off of him and backed away from them. "I am NOT a lab rat!" he shouted. Reyna and Rachel gasped, and Rachel 'covered' the rats ears.

"Right in _front_ of him... her... IT!" said Rachel. Travis rolled his eyes.

"You should be _ashamed_ of yourself!" said Reyna.

"Calm down! We're just bugging you. It's just an irrational fear. It's like when you put that spider in Annabeth's bed." said Malcolm. Annabeth glanced at him, then glared at Travis.

"Now _you've_ earned yourself a prank." said Travis.

"_What?!_ I knew it! I knew it was you jerks! Let's get this tor- study experiment going!" screamed Annabeth. Travis' eyes widened. Annabeth slapped down her clipboard and grabbed him before he could make a getaway. She pushed him towards the rat. "Wow. You get really squeamish around rats." laughed Percy.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Jason, Piper, Leo and Nico suddenly appeared at the doorway.

"Yeah we heard Annabeth scream something, and came ru- well, walking." said Jason.

"Nice. So when I'm actually in trouble I'd have to wait a while?" said Annabeth.

"Well then we'd actually be running..." said Jason, but Leo stopped him from continuing.

"So what's up guys?" he asked.

"We're watching Travis get tortured." Malcolm explained casually. Travis sighed, and tried to get away from Annabeth.

"We're also studying." said Rachel.

"Make them stop!" called Travis. The newcomers laughed and walked in the room and sat around the table.

"Alright, how long has this been going on for?" asked Jason. Everyone sighed and went '_awe!_'

"Forevmm!" shouted Travis. Reyna had covered his mouth with her hand. He shoved it away and _finally_ got away from Annabeth. "Oh gross! Your hand touched the rat!" he whined. He rubbed his mouth with his sleeve as everyone laughed.

"Musophobia? Really Travis?" said Leo. Then he blinked a couple of times and stared off in thought. "_Why_ do I know that?" he wondered out loud.

"Okay, it's really only been about five minutes of this. But it's really entertaining." said Will.

"Yeah but... I did put Rachel as head chef, so I think maybe he's done being tortured." sighed Malcolm. Again, everyone went '_awe!_' Well, everyone except Travis of course. Travis sighed in relief. "Thank you." he said. "But you've still earned yourself a prank."

"Yeah whatever."

Just then Mr. D stood in the doorway, and was looking through a magazine. "Uh, what are you all still doing here? Oh Chiron asked me to ask you how things are going." he said lazily.

"We just finished torturing Travis for the past three days." said Rachel. She went back to cooing at the rat in Reyna's hands. Travis glared at her. "Oh, and we have all the food ready for the party." said Annabeth.

"Alright whatever." he said, and walked away.

**Will's POV**

It was finally the night.

The night in which Malcolm would either praised, or humiliated. Will found him pacing about backstage. He wished the guy could feel better about this. It wasn't fair. But, soon he'd have his revenge on Drew, so for the time being, he'd just have to calm down his friend. Basically everyone was at the party by this point, so it was almost time to go on.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked him.

"Uh, not good. Not good, not good, not good! I can't do this. I can't-"

Will grabbed Malcolm by his shoulders. "_Yes_ you _can_." he said. Malcolm was about to protest, but Will interrupted him. "You wanna know how I know? Because- and please don't hate me for it-" Malcolm gave him a confused look.

Will then closed the space between them, and did what he's wanted to do for the longest time. The moment his lips met Malcolm's, Will could feel him instantly relax, which was a very good sign. Fireworks began blasting inside of Will... or was that from outside? Oh, no wait, the fireworks weren't suppose to be until later. After a few more glorious seconds, Will reluctantly pulled away from Malcolm for air.

**Aphrodite's POV**

Near the back of the room, Aphrodite was in a _very_ interesting conversation- or was it an argument? (Note the sarcasm.) She couldn't really tell, but Athena and Apollo were talking about... something. She'd zoned out after a while. She was surprised that they didn't notice since she was practically standing in between them. _"Ugh! This conversation- or argument- is SOOOOOOOOOOOO boring! Can't anyone be falling in lo- wait."_ thought Aphrodite.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she squealed. Both Apollo and Athena stopped talking and looked at her oddly.

"Uhm... what's up?" asked Apollo. Although, he seemed hesitant to ask. It was like he almost didn't want to know. She couldn't blame him though. "Are you alright Aphrodite?" asked Athena.

The Love Goddess recollected herself into her original position. "Yeah. It's nothing." she said very casually. Only for a second did the other two's weird expressions linger on their faces, before they went back to their conversation.

Aphrodite glanced up at the stage, or more importantly, backstage. She knew _exactly_ who it was she felt. She decided to play it safe- _for once_- and let those two tell their parents themselves. It would only be a matter of time anyways. Either they would tell them, or their parents would find out by themselves anyway.

**Will's POV**

Whether or not Will knew if Malcolm liked him like that, on the plus side, the son of Athena didn't dislike the kiss! "Um, that's why. Oh uh, my dad wants to say hi to all of us, so I guess I have to get down there, but I'll come right back when you're done. Okay?" said Will.

Malcolm, although a bit dazed, nodded. That was all Will needed. He left a slightly dizzy Malcolm behind, and went to begin his revenge plan. He walked towards the back of the room, careful to avoid Aphrodite's gaze, and headed over to where the Stoll brothers were. He sat down on a stool at the bar section next to Connor who was looking quite nervous.

"Hey Connor, Travis. Uh, wow Connor, you're looking pretty spiff." said Will. "Um, who are you trying to impress?" The guy was dressed up in a tux, fancy shoes, a bow tie, and he even had one of those handkerchief thingy's that goes in the suit pocket. His hair was even combed back. He looked like a flippin' professional waiter! Well, he would have looked like that if he wasn't shaking so much. Connor looked like he'd drop the plat of appetizers he was carrying around at any moment. Poor guy.

"Uh, t-thanks. And um, no one." he said quickly. His face became a bit red.

"No one really? Because it looks like Travis' revenge on you is backfiring on him." said Will. The party was only _semi_ formal. Connor was the only one dressed for an all out formal party. He glanced at the son of Hades who was sitting with Hazel near the front doors. Connor blushed as he noticed that Nico was staring at him. But the Ghost Prince looked away just as he looked. Seriously? Did they really not see what was right in front of them? Travis sighed at the way Connor was staring at Nico. Or was it because his revenge plan had basically failed because everyone thought Connor looked great? In all honesty, Will wasn't sure which one it was.

"Look Con, just go over there already." he said. Connor glanced at him, and looked back at Nico.

"Hey, uh, I don't know if I should be saying this, but I do know that you won't fully believe it if Travis says it-" cue the 'hey' from said person, "so I'll say it. Practically the whole camp was been trying to get you guys together for the past...mm, three months was it?" said Will. Travis nodded as Connor's eyes widened.

"Believe it or not, but even Clarisse was helping." said Travis. Connor looked at him in surprise. "Ha, yeah that was everyone's reaction. But seriously, just go already before we push you." Connor took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay. Okay I can do this." said Connor. Will and Travis smiled. _Finally!_ Connor slowly made his way over to Nico and Hazel who smiled at him. Okay, now that that was settled, Will turned his attention towards the stage. Hopefully all would go well. Especially after his revenge plan. Oh this was gonna be good!

"So, how is his speech?" asked Travis.

"It's really good. I just hope that he'll be able to go through with it." said Will.

"Well, since you were flirti-he-helping, I'm sure he'll be absolutely fine." said Travis. Will looked at him, and Travis smiled innocently.

"You realize you're worse than Leo, right?" said Will.

"What do you mean?" said Travis. Will snorted.

"So who's pet rat was that anyway? Did they ever find out?"

Travis paled a little bit. "Don't know, don't care." he said. Will smirked and laughed.

"Alright, alright, not teasing, just asking. Sheesh. Oh, he's on. Time to pray." he said just as Malcolm stepped onto the stage in front of the microphone. The crowd quieted down for him to speak. His godly mother smiled reassuringly up at him. Will could have sworn that Aphrodite was smiling widely behind Athena and Apollo's backs, but... he focussed on Malcolm. He was more important.

Luckily, his speech was going well. After the first paragraph was through, (both he _and_ Will had the thing memorized after rehearsing it so many times,) Will looked at Nico and he looked back. Will gave a short nod, and Nico gave one in return. He thought he saw his godly father look their way, but he wasn't sure. Nico then looked at Jason, who was standing closer to the main doors, (but not so much that it would look suspicious.) He nodded at Jason, who nodded in return. Jason then used his wind powers (that may have gotten Zeus' attention, but they had to risk that for this to work,) to open one of the doors. That sent a signal to Grover and Frank who waited outside with a very excited Mrs. O'Leary. She could totally smell the meat appetizers that were being served- and wanted some. Badly. Just as soon as that door opened a crack, Grover and Frank let loose the hellhound. The giant dog bounded it's way into the room making a huge scene!

Malcolm stopped talking out of shock, and everyone gasped and brought out their weapon of choice.

"Wait. Is anyone else reminded of Spykids two?" asked Travis.

"_Thank you!_" sighed Will. He _knew_ it reminded him of something. The fancy dinner party, and then the sudden pull out of all the weapons. Will put his weapon away (he obviously pulled it out to not make it look suspicious,) and slowly made his way over to Connor, who had a plate of the meat appetizers. Mrs. O'Leary was headed straight for him! Will didn't think anyone (not even Connor,) noticed him grab the tray of food, and discreetly hand it over to Drew who just so happened to be near by. Well, maybe Lord Apollo did. But he liked revenge, and a good joke every now and then so... Actually, maybe Zeus noticed as well. That could have some consequences. But then again, he did it for Malcolm- for love, and Aphrodite would... oh wait. Drew is her daughter. Hm, maybe not in this case. Speaking of the *****...

"Where did this come from?" Drew wondered out loud (very loudly actually.) A lot of people turned and looked at her. She was staring at the plate in her hands, and not at the trouble that was about to come. Mrs. O'Leary instantly spotted her bright red dress, and smelled the food and leaped over to her in a heartbeat. Drew screamed from the shock of being pounced on by a hellhound and tried to get away. Bad idea. Her dress was tight, and it actually looked hard to move in. So, with her struggling around, eventually they heard a very loud and long-

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!_

A few of the girls gasped and giggled. Drew on the other hand... screamed like hell. Anyone around her might have gone deaf for a few seconds. Will and Travis walked over to where Connor, Nico, Hazel, Jason, Grover, and Frank were. It was quieter over there. There was also a better view of the whole scene. It was actually quiet funny. All of the gods and goddesses, mortals, _and_ demigods were too stunned to do anything. So Drew's dress got destroyed in the process of Mrs. O'Leary's quest to devour all of the meat.

Zeus looked suspiciously at Hades who had a very shocked expression, and he just shrugged in response as if they communicated by mind.

"Alright. Haz, we should probably get Mrs. O'Leary back before she attacks the other waiters. One naked person is enough." laughed Nico. Wait. Will looked at him. He _actually_ laughed. Huh. That was new. Will glanced at Connor who was totally blushing like crazy. Nico didn't laugh that often. Will playfully nudged Connor in the side as Nico and Hazel dashed after the hellhound. Connor glanced at him, and smiled shyly.

Aphrodite, and some of Drew's friends helped her get out of the mass of people. Ares' children laughed as she walked by, and many of the teenage boys whistled at her. Her face was beat red.

"Huh. I'm surprised Mrs. O'Leary didn't squash and lick anyone other than Drew." laughed Percy. "I guess I should help Nico and Hazel out." He then went after the giant dog and calmed people down, reassuring them that she was actually quite playful and friendly.

"So, not too many mortal kids get a pet dog until they're mature enough, and Percy gets her?" said Jason. Everyone else shrugged. Will looked at Malcolm after Mrs. O'Leary was escorted out of the building. Everyone's attention went back to him.

"Uh, well this night can only go uphill from there so-" he said. Many people laughed. Who knew he had a funny side?

After that distraction, the rest of the speech went pretty good. Will excused himself from the gang, and went to go find him when he was finished. He found Malcolm sitting on a chair backstage just as the band (background music) began playing. "Hey! That was great!" said Will. Malcolm blushed and smiled at him. He looked down at his hands. "Thanks." Suddenly Malcolm shot up and embraced the son of Apollo in a hug. After a second of shock, Will hugged back. "So... what's this for?" he asked. Malcolm tightened his grip around him.

"For... everything. From helping me with my speech, to your revenge plan on Drew-" laughed Malcolm. Will laughed along with him. Malcolm pulled away from the hug, but still held on to Will. He noticed that Malcolm was blushing a lot, and smiled. "To this." he finished. Malcolm leaned in and kissed Will on the lips. After a few more seconds, they pulled away.

"FINALLY!" someone shouted.

The two jumped and turned to see Clarisse and Tyson. "Uh, Nico and Connor weren't the only ones the camp was trying to get together." Tyson explained. The two boys blushed and glanced at each other. Were they that obvious? "Oh right. Speaking of them, they're outside by the pond and the rest of our group is spying on them through the giant window." said Clarisse. They two left and it was just Malcolm and Will again. Will looked at Malcolm. "Well? Shall we?" he said. Malcolm smiled and took his hand in his, and they went to go spy on their friends.

When they got there, they chuckled at how their group of friends were all huddled by the large window. "Shouldn't we you know, be less obvious?" Grover asked while chewing on some food. It was then that Will noticed everyone had a plate of food. Connor and Nico, were sitting on the edge of the dock.

"Nah. Those two are so oblivious, they won't notice." said Leo.

"I meant the people inside with us. With your parents?" said Grover.

"Nah they won't notice either."

"Yes we will."

"Yes they will, what am I saying?" said Leo.

The gang turned their heads to see Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite, Hades, Zeus, Hermes, Poseidon, and Sally and Paul. The one that spoke was Sally.

"That was some nice work back there." said Apollo.

"Well we all kinda pitched in-" started Jason.

"I meant with Mrs. O'Leary."

"Oh that uh..."

Jason didn't seem to want to explain, but Clarisse chimed in. "Yeah who's plan was that?" she asked. Hazel looked at her.

"Wait. That was planned?" she asked.

"Yeah. But back to my question, who's plan was that?" Clarisse asked again. The people who knew about it pointed at Will. Will sighed. "Well, there's no point in lying, so yeah." he said.

"And who was involved?" asked Zeus. Those people raised a hand. Zeus nodded knowingly at Jason who looked down. Sally, Paul and Poseidon looked at Percy expectantly when he didn't raise a hand. Percy shrugged. "I only asked Grover and Frank to take her out for a walk." he paused as he swallowed some food. "I completely forgot about her spectacular sense of smell."

"Yeah, _run_ is more like it." said Frank.

"FINALLY!" Clarisse suddenly shouted. Everyone except the gods jumped and looked out the window. It turned out that Nico and Connor were kissing, when they heard her shout. Connor lost his balance on the dock and... fell into the water. "I should really stop doing that." said Clarisse.

"Yeah." laughed Leo. Then he stopped laughing. "Wait. Stop?" he questioned.

"Those two weren't the only ones that got together tonight." was his answer. Clarisse then looked at Will and Malcolm, who blushed as red as a tomato. Their godly parents looked at them in question, while Aphrodite smiled knowingly. Apollo looked at her. "Is that what you were squealing about earlier?" he asked.

"It might have been..." said Aphrodite. "And while Drew is my daughter, she has been acting rather... mm, immaturely lately. I hope she's learned something. And I'm saying this, because Will thought of the plan because of love." The two boys blushed some more and looked at their parents asking for permission.

Athena sighed. "Well, you did help my son so... I give you my blessing. But I warn you, do _not_ hurt him." she warned. Will nodded. Everyone then looked at Apollo who looked deep in thought. Then he sighed. "Yeah, whatever. You've got mine too." he said.

"As well." corrected Athena.

"Yeah, whatever." said Apollo. Athena scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Uh oh." said Mitchell. "Connor had better get out of that suit soon or it'll shrink on him." Some people snickered.

"We should probably tell him then." said Piper.

"No! Uh, no-no. I need my revenge." said Travis. Will laughed.

"That's right. Your first act of 'revenge' failed miserably." he said. Travis rolled his eyes as everyone laughed. Everyone except Travis, Luke and Percy left Nico and Connor alone for the night. After a few hours even Will and Malcolm got some alone time...

**A/N**: See? The quote fit perfectly! I mean, a party, war? Am I right? ;) By the way, the Malcolm/Will pairing was inspired by hopefulmemoir's _Cat and Mouse_. You should check it out, it's pretty good. :)

... Travis' Musophobia was created in no relation to hopefulmemoir's title _Cat and Mouse._ That really was just a coincidence lol.

I also don't mean to insult anyone who has a fear of rodents. I simply thought it'd be a funny quirk that Travis has. And it also made for great comic relief. (No harm done?)

And no, I don't own Spykids either lol.

Anyway...

Oh, and uh, look to the uh bottom right of your screen. You see that big box that you can type in? Type in it. (Uh, I mean, please review.) Uh, please...

You know what I'm talking about right?

(Even if you don't have an account you can still review! Just leave 'guest' in your made up temporary username.)

...

:D


	8. Insert Other Quote Here

**A/N**: what's up guys? THANK YOU so much for you three that reviewed and suggested _different_ couples! :D I appreciate it very much!

By the way, do you guys want a summary of each chapter at the beginning of each chapter, or should I leave it as a surprise? :/ I'm good either way.

Uh, yeah I know I've been focussing on Malcolm, Mitchell and Connor a lot lately- (hey, they need more love!) but I HAD to do this one once I thought of it! But I WILL do the couples that you three suggested after this one. :) So stick around for that! You'll hopefully understand why I did these three characters again in just a moment.

*Pause*

Moment's over.

"_F.A.I.L = First Attempt In Learning"_- Author Unknown

**Malcolm's POV**

Malcolm made his way over to the storage building. In this building, all of the Athena and Hephaestus children use to store their plans and information. It took _forever_ to organize. He needed to look at some plans Annabeth had left for him about expanding the cabins for more demigods. It had to be done soon, new demigods were popping up almost once a week. Sometimes more than once. Sometimes they came in groups. Either way, it had to be done.

His sister and her friends had decided to take some time off to have a vacation. Only the gods know where they went. When he asked them as a group, each one said something totally different. It was obvious that they didn't want him or anyone else to know, so he left it alone.

Oddly enough, the door to all of their precious files had been left open. Wide open.

There, in the centre of the room, hissing at him, was a three foot wide, two foot tall spider.

Malcolm's blood went cold. He slammed the door, and locked it. He heard the creature hiss again and slam against the door. _"Crap! What do I do now?"_ he thought. Just as he thought that, Mitchell walked by. Perfect! "Oh uh, Mitchell! I uh, need your help." Malcolm called. Mitchell looked up and walked over.

"With what?" he asked.

"Uh... you don't have a uh, fear of spiders do you?" Malcolm asked. Gods he hated this. Mitchell chuckled. "Nope. What, there's one in there and you need something from there?" he asked. Malcolm sighed.

"Something like that." he said. Mitchell laughed. Man, this was so embarrassing! He moved so Mitchell could open the door. "Alright, alright. I'll go kill the little- holy ****!" yelled Mitchell, and he slammed the door closed. He took a minute to gather himself together, then he looked at Malcolm. "The fact that it's about four foot wide and a foot and a half a foot tall didn't register as important information that was worth mentioning?" he asked.

"Actually it's three feet and two feet- when my fear kicks in I can't think straight!" Malcolm said. Mitchell sighed. It was then that Malcolm realized- "Hey, aren't you gonna lock that?" he asked. Mitchell glanced at it and shrugged.

"Why? That door's about as thick as-" Just as Mitchell was saying that, the door opened a crack. Mitchell slammed it shut again, turned the bolt on the door and locked it. He turned to see Malcolm smirking at him. "Your head?" he said. Mitchell rolled his eyes.

"If you're comparing my head to the door, then you're saying that my head isn't that thick at all." he said.

"Actually-" The clicking sound of the bolt made Malcolm freeze. The door had become unlocked. Mitchell quickly turned it again. But then it turned back, and the familiar hissing noise was heard. Mitchell held the bolt in place after he locked it again. "Uh... this could be a problem. We need help." he said. He also pressed his back against the door- just in case.

"Hey, we could ask Drew, maybe she could Charmspeak the thing into leaving." said Malcolm. Mitchell blinked and stared at him. He put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's just think about this for a second." he said.

* * *

(**M + M's imagination...)**

Drew was laying back in a lawn chair soaking up sun on the grass near the lake. The two boys walked up to her. "Uh, hey Drew we were just wondering if you could help us with something." said Mitchell.

"No. Why would I help you idiots?" she said quite bitterly. She scoffed and ignored them completely after that.

* * *

**(Present...)**

"Wow. It'd really go that badly?" said Malcolm. Mitchell crossed his arms in thought.

"Hm. Maybe we should imagine her in a better mood." he said.

* * *

(**M + M's imagination...)**

"No. Why would I help you idiots?" she said happily. She took a sip from her Mai Tai and ignored them completely after that.

* * *

"Hm. Nope. She's gonna stay not helping us forever." said Mitchell. The two of them sighed. There was a moment of silence as they thought about what to do. "Is she really a Mai Tai kind of person? I thought she'd be more of Daiquiri kind of person." said Malcolm. Mitchell gave him a look.

"What did your fear do to your brain?" he asked. Malcolm shrugged. "Anyway, man, I wish we could ask one of the _actual_ camp counsellors. That would help."

Malcolm sighed. "Well, we should ask someone else." he said.

Sadly, a about an hour later, they came back with nothing. Everyone had something else more important to do. Or so they said anyways. "Well, that got us no where." said Malcolm. "I wonder if it's still in there. If it can unlock the door, maybe it left on it's own." Mitchell cautiously opened the door- and slammed it shut again.

"Nope. Still there. I think it's making a nest or something with the loose papers lying around." said Mitchell. Malcolm sighed.

"Awe man! Those are the plans that Annabeth left for me to look at! Stupid spider." he mumbled. "Oh hey there's Frank."

Said person walked up to the building. "Oh hey guys. Need any help with anything?" he asked.

"No."

"Yes."

Malcolm and Mitchell looked at each other while Frank looked confused.

"Yes?"

"No?"

The two boys looked at each other again.

"Uh..." said Frank. He looked out of place for some reason. He glanced to his left. "Oh uh, I just remembered that I uh, have something else to do... that's more important um... ov-over there. Bye!" he said. With that said, he left. The sons of Athena and Aphrodite stared at him oddly. "I feel like this was set up." said Malcolm. Mitchell looked at him.

"Your fear really does mess up your brain." he said. Malcolm nodded.

**No One's POV**

**About one minute earlier...**

"Okay, now Frank, I need you to walk by them and ask if they need any help with anything. Got it? Okay... go." Leo said into his communicator. Basically everyone out of the main group (except Malcolm, Mitchell, Frank, and Connor) were currently sitting on their butts on a nice comfy couch... with the gods (including Hades, Chiron, and Mr. D,) on Olympus. Of course the gods had their royal seats to sit in. Well, Hades had to grab a comfy chair for himself. He sat beside his kids who sat at the end of the couch. They were all sitting in front of a giant screen which showed the current state of Malcolm and Mitchell, and now Frank who had just walked on the screen. How could they see this? It's simple really. Leo, with the help of Annabeth, created a bunch of fly cameras, and Leo had been controlling them with a small control panel.

"Oh hey guys. Need any help with anything?" Frank asked.

"No."

"Yes."

Malcolm and Mitchell looked at each other while Frank looked confused. Leo waited in case they said something else.

"Yes?"

"No?"

The two boys looked at each other again. Leo face-palmed. That wasn't suppose to happen. Now Frank just looked confused.

"Uh..." said Frank.

"Um, okay, just- oh! Just say you have something else to do. That's more important. Okay- go!"

_Frank glanced to his left. "Oh uh, I just remembered that I uh, have something else to do... that's more important um... ov-over there. Bye!" he said. With that said, he left. The son of Athena and Aphrodite stared at him oddly. "I feel like this was set up." said Malcolm. Mitchell looked at him._

"_Your fear really does mess up your brain." he said. Malcolm shrugged and nodded_.

Phew. They didn't suspect a thing. "Phew. Nice work Frank. Leo out." said Leo. "Okay, now they'll have to get Connor. He's the only one left."

Annabeth fidgeted in her seat in between Thalia and Piper. "Um- I'm-I'm just wondering, if this is all _really_ necessary?" she said. Leo rolled his eyes.

"The reason we're doing this is so that they can learn some responsibility if we're ever actually gone, and if there's _actually_ something that needs to be dealt with. We didn't put that spider in the storage for nothing Annabeth." said Leo. Annabeth glanced down at her hands.

"Plus it's fun watching them get humiliated." laughed Clarisse. A few others laughed along with her, but they stopped once they saw the look that Athena and Aphrodite were giving them. Hermes didn't seem to mind so much- thankfully. Perhaps it was because he liked a good joke, and wanted his son to learn more about responsibility. Suddenly Aphrodite sighed.

"Where's the romance? Someone said there'll be romance!" she huffed. "I don't remember who-"

"Good." said Will. Luke hit him on the head quickly. Other gods looked at them oddly. "Uh, I mean, it'll come. It will." he said quickly. Aphrodite gave him a look of disbelief. "Seriously, it will. Malcolm's not that great at hiding his feelings around Connor, plus he's already acting weird."

"Yeah but that's always happened when his fear takes over. I remember one time he listed off ten different ways to cook fajitas, then said he didn't know where that came from." said Annabeth. Everyone looked at her oddly. "What? It happened. Fear does things to people."

"Man, now I want fajitas." sighed Grover. "Thanks Annabeth." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, and Connor's not exactly, um, _great_ at dealing with his feelings either. Something's bound to happen. Especially if Mitch is there." said Travis. Aphrodite smiled at the thought of her son helping out.

"Shush! Connor's on!" said Leo. They became quiet as Connor spoke.

"Shush? Who says shush?" said Rachel. Leo put a hand over her mouth as she rolled her eyes.

"I do. Now shush!"

Rachel shoved his hand away and slapped him on the head.

"_Uh, so I just heard through the grapevine you guys were looking for some help. I hope I'm not the bottom of the barrel." said Connor. The other two glanced at each other and looked at him._

"_What? No. Why would you say that?" asked Mitchell. Although his voice was suspiciously a little higher than usual._

"_Did you know that around the world there are more than 8,000 varieties of grape, and there are 7 different grape colors: red, green, white, black, purple, blue and golden?" said Malcolm. Mitchell gave him a weird look, and Connor blushed._

Connor's blushing made Aphrodite and Piper- though she'll deny it- make a weird happy noise. "Uh, yeah he does that whenever Mal says something smart. He thinks Luke and I don't know anything." laughed Travis. "He's so obvious it's almost painful! His lying even stinks when he's around Malcolm." Hermes had to chuckle at that. Who knew his son had a thing for smart people? Well... actually it made sense. Their mother was fairly smart. Smart enough she could have been a child of Athena herself!

"_Uh... I'm not sure where that came from. S-sorry." mumbled Malcolm. Mitch turned his attention back to Connor._

"_Um... there's a five foot wide, one foot tall spider in there. It's kind of aggressive, and Mal's fear kind of takes over his brain... Got any plans?" asked Mitchell._

Annabeth sighed and brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. This was not going to go well, was it? She knows that she should have a little more faith in Connor, but he's a son of Hermes! She couldn't help it!

"_Three feet and two feet. Weren't you listening?" asked Malcolm. Connor blushed even more._

"_Uh, so you've asked Frank?"_

"_He said he's busy." said Mitchell._

"_Jake, Lacy, uh, Will's sister- uh... what's her name?"_

"_Everyone was busy." said Malcolm._

"_Hm. So, just to recap- I'm _not_ the bottom of the barrel." said Connor._

Everyone had to laugh at Mitchell and Malcolm's blank expressions. Even their godly mothers chuckled.

"_What? No. We haven't asked Drew." said Mitchell. Again, his voice was higher than usual._

Piper face-palmed.

"_We thought about asking her." said Malcolm, glancing at Mitchell. "Twice. Neither worked out to good though."_

This time Annabeth face-palmed. She and her brother needed to concur their fear of spiders someday. It messed with his train of thought. That's not good. Piper put a hand on her arm, and Aphrodite and Athena eyed their daughters suspiciously. They glanced at each other and smiled.

_Connor sighed. "Mm...uh, wait here. I've got just the thing." said Connor, and he went off to who knows where to get 'it.' Malcolm stared at him as he ran off, and began to blush. Mitchell eyed him just as the Goddess of Love and the Goddess Wisdom had eyed their daughters. After a few minutes, Connor came back with a grenade looking thing in his hand. The other two eyed him suspiciously._

"_Uh, what is that?" asked Mitchell._

"_I'd uh, prefer not to answer that." said Connor. He paused from fiddling with the grenade and glanced at them. "It's classified."_

"_Classified?" said Malcolm. Connor nodded._

"_What's it gonna do to the spider?" asked Mitchell._

"_I'd prefer not to answer that."_

"_Do... do you have anymore?" asked Malcolm. Connor paused again, but didn't look at either of them._

"_I'd prefer not to answer that." he said quickly. Malcolm sighed. "Okay, now I've just got to get this in the building. Mitch, if you don't mind." Mitchell unlatched the door and opened it just enough for Connor to throw the grenade-like object in it. Once he threw it, they locked it back up and backed away. In a few seconds, there was a small explosion, but no harm was done to the building. The _outside_ anyways._

"_Uh, Connor? Did you just destroy something that took a little over six months to organize?"_ _asked Malcolm. Connor's face went bright red as Malcolm stared at him._

"_Um... I'd prefer not to answer that." he mumbled._

This time it was more than just Travis who face-palmed. Clarisse and a few others had to laugh. Travis decided that if his idiot brother and the brainiac didn't get together during this time, he and Luke would confront Connor about his feelings. It really messed with his train of thought just as Malcolm's fear messed with his. Things could get very interesting.

**Mitchell's POV**

Huh. Who knew Malcolm would fall for a prankster? And vice versa? Interesting. Mitchell eyed Connor as he began to speak nervously. "Um, I'll uh, go see if the Big House has uh, any book or something on how to get rid of a giant spider..." he said quickly. He left just as fast.

**No One's POV**

Annabeth sighed and buried her eyes in her arms. "Must we watch this?" she asked. Piper put a hand on her back. Annabeth sighed again and leaned in towards her. Athena and Aphrodite glanced at each other and smiled again.

Leo dug around in his large backpack he brought with him and pulled out a short book- most likely the one Connor would be looking for- and dropped it on the ground in front of the screen. "Yes. Yes we must." he said.

"I must say, you guys sure came prepared. I'm impressed." said Apollo.

"Yup! We thought of everything they'd possibly do!" said Leo.

"Thanks to Luke and I." said Annabeth.

"Thanks to Annabeth and Luke." said Leo. Travis coughed. "Bless you." said Leo. Travis frowned and rolled his eyes.

"That's if you sneeze smart guy. I _coughed_." he said. He coughed again.

"Gesundheit?"

Travis narrowed his eyes and frowned. "In all fairness, there's no actual saying for when someone uh, _coughs_." said Jason. Travis shot him a warning glare as he and Percy chuckled. Luke half smiled at his brother and shrugged awkwardly. They turned back to the screen.

**Mitchell's POV**

Now was his chance to question his best friend. "So... Connor huh?" said Mitchell. Malcolm blinked a few times and looked at him. He blushed a little and hesitated to say something. "Uh- wh-what about him?" he asked. Mitchell sighed and gave him a look that said: 'seriously?'

"Come on, it's so obvious! You can't lie to me." said Mitchell. "Besides, you stink at lying so there's really no point." Malcolm sighed.

"Fine. I- I _like_ him. So what? It's- it's no big deal." said Malcolm.

"It _is_ a big- ah the door is opening!" yelped Mitchell. He flew to the door and locked it up. He gave a sigh of relief as did Malcolm. "As I was saying, it _is_ a big deal. Just not in the way you think it is... um... or however you'd say that." said Mitchell as he noticed Malcolm's confused expression. Malcolm looked down and glanced in the direction Connor went. "Look, what I mean is, I think you'd stand a pretty good chance if you asked him out." said Mitchell. Malcolm bit his lip in thought.

"How... how do you even know that he feels the same?" he asked.

"I have good reasons. Three good reasons actually-"

* * *

**(The First Reason)**

Mitchell took a sip of his Cachaça (it's legal at camp on holidays! Give him a break!) and leaned back in his beach chair. "Uh, Mitch? Which would Malcolm like? This book on Ancient Roman Architecture, or this other book on Linguistics?" Connor asked quickly. He paused and thought for a second. "I-I should just get him both. Never mind, thanks Mitch!" he said quickly, and walked off somewhere. Mitch stared at him, and sighed.

"His birthday's not for eight months!" he shouted. Connor didn't reply. Mitch shrugged and leaned back in his chair. He suddenly jumped as Kayla was suddenly in an arm chair beside him. "Um... See? Told you I was right!" he said. Kayla shrugged and didn't look up from her book.

"That's no big deal, he got your present nine months before your birthday." she said. Mitchell gave her a surprised look.

* * *

**(The Second Reason)**

Mitchell was walking along the pathway to the cabins when he saw Connor jogging up to him carrying something in his hands. "Uh, hey Mitch, which shirt do you think would impress an Athena kid? This one? Or this one? Wait. I've got that one shirt. Never mind, thanks Mitch!" he said quickly, and ran back towards his cabin.

"Um... anytime!" called Mitchell. He was about to turned and go inside his ow cabin, but he was interrupted by Kayla. "Gah! Wh- Kayla how did you-"

"You know that _still_ doesn't prove anything. He could be talking about _any_ Athena kid." she said. Mitchell shrugged.

"True. But- hey. Shouldn't you be cleaning the stables? It _is_ your turn this week." said Mitchell. Kayla shrugged.

"Meh, I'll get Jake to do it sometime."

* * *

**(The Third Reason)**

Mitchell sat reading a book at the Hades table with Nico and Hazel, who were eating lunch. Mitchell didn't even glance up when Connor made his way over to them. "Hey Mitch." he said. Hazel looked at Mitchell when he didn't respond, and Nico just sat back and watched. Although he wasn't very interested, he was curious as to why Mitchell didn't respond. He and Connor were fairly close friends. Nico's curiosity got the better of him.

"So I was wondering if you knew what would be the ideal gift for an Athena kid? I mean like-" As Connor rambled on, Hazel looked at Mitchell as if pressuring him to answer. Mitchell, in response to her, held up three fingers and counted down to one, then pointed at Connor. "Oh. Wait. Annabeth might know. Never mind, thanks Mitch!" said Connor, and he ran off to find Annabeth.

"That _still_ doesn't prove anything you know." said Kayla, who suddenly showed up with food beside Mitchell. He jumped and turned to her.

"Okay seriously, where do you come from? You're worse than these two with their Shadowtravelling!" he said. "Uh, no offense." The two shrugged., as did Kayla.

"Hazleton?" said Kayla. Hazel and Nico looked at her oddly.

"Seriously. It's a town." said Kayla. The two of them didn't seem convinced. "I'm from there?"

* * *

"Well?" said Mitchell. Malcolm stared at him. Mitchell, unsure if he was paying attention, waved a hand in front of his face. Malcolm batted it away and rolled his eyes. "Wait. You're a Cachaça kind of person? I thought you'd be more of a Tequila kind of person..." said Malcolm. Mitchell sighed.

"_Focus_ Malcolm." said Mitchell. "So, you see what I'm saying?" Malcolm shrugged.

"I don't know. I mean, it doesn't _really_ prove anything. He could be talking about anyone." he said. Mitchell gave him a look. "What?"

"Don't listen to Kayla, listen to me!" said Mitchell. Malcolm sighed. He closed his eyes and thought on it. "Fine! Fine. I'll- I'll talk to him." he said. Mitchell smiled and pushed him towards the Big House. Malcolm paused for a second. "But if all fails, I'm blaming you." he warned. Mitchell sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. Get going brainiac." he said. He watched leave as the fly that was sitting lifelessly on the wall of the storage got up and flew after him- wait. What? Flies didn't do that. Eh, it's probably just a coincidence.

**No One's POV**

"Uh, I think Mitch noticed the fly cam." commented Grover. Leo waved it off.

"Nah, don't be ridiculous. It's a _fly_ cam. It looks like a fly, acts like a fly-" he was cut off by Percy.

"Yeah except fly's don't normally stay put for a long period of time and then fly off and follow someone." he said.

"He's got a point." Thalia.

"Yeah but, who notices fly's really? I mean... they're fly's." said Leo.

"Ooh, he's got a point too." said Thalia.

"Who's side are you on?" asked Percy. Thalia shrugged.

"But this time Leo, put the fly cam in a less noticeable place." said Thalia. Leo sighed.

"Fine. I'll put it in between some books in the library." he said.

**Drew's POV**

Drew walked around the Big House kitchen to get a drink from the giant fridge. Suddenly she heard a sigh and chair scrape against the floor. Normally, she'd just ignore something like that. But it was a strange day, so her curiosity got the better of her. With her Sazerac drink in her hand, she followed the noise and ended up in the Big House library. Which was weird for her, because... well since when did she read anything other than magazines? She stopped and took a sip from her drink once she saw Connor Stoll sitting at a table with his head on the table. He seemed to be pretty down about something. Again, it was a weird day, because on a normal day, she would have just ignored him. But again, her curiosity got the better of her. The Stolls didn't normally worry about stuff unless there was a war coming. Which there wasn't at the moment, (lucky them, they finally got a break!)

Drew sighed, getting Connor's attention. He lifted his head and gave her a curious yet cautious look. _"Crap. This probably has something to do with Malcolm. The guy really needs to get better at hiding his feelings."_ she thought. Why else would Connor be in the library of all places? The Stolls weren't ones for reading, Drew knew that much.

"So why do you look like crap?" she asked. Hm, perhaps she shouldn't have worded it like that. To him it probably meant-

"Uh, what do you mean? Are you trying to call me ugly like you do everyone else?" he asked. Drew sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Look idiot, if you want Malcolm's attention, just talk to him." she said. Connor eyed her suspiciously. She sighed again. "I'm a daughter of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love? I know all. EW! A FLY!" she screamed and slammed her fist on top of the fly on the shelf next to her.

**No One's POV**

Everyone just stared blankly at the screen as it blacked out thanks to Drew. There was silence for a few seconds before Leo lightly punched Piper in the arm. "Hey!" she said.

"Let's not ask Drew. She won't care. She'll probably screw things up. She won't want to help Connor and Malcolm get together!" he mocked. Piper sighed. Aphrodite smiled at the thought of Drew actually being somewhat nice for a change. It was weird but, hey, this whole day has been weird for everyone. Even the gods.

"Okay, okay! I... misjudged her. THIS ONE TIME." she said. The gang looked at her oddly. "It's been a weird day for all of us, give me a break! Besides, I'm not the one who decided to make _fly_ cameras!"

"Plus other campers smashed our other fly cameras so-" Leo interrupted Will.

"Fine! Fly cameras were a bad idea! At least my spider cam is still in action, check this out. It's on top of the giant dictionary, Drew hasn't spotted it yet. If Connor has, he doesn't care." said Leo. The screen blinked to life as he pressed a button on the control panel.

**Connor's POV**

"Ugh, I hate bugs. Anyway, seriously. Just talk to him." said Drew. Connor didn't believe her. Sure, it was a weird day, but that didn't mean anything. "But..." Connor sighed. "I-I'm pretty sure I just blew my only chance. I failed at being a counsellor, I'm failing in Chiron's Greek science class- well, Travis and I both are-"

**No One's POV**

Travis blushed as everyone laid their eyes on him. He looked at Chiron who seemed surprised. "It's- we don't understand the concepts! What, not _everyone_ is perfect!" he said. Everyone shrugged in agreement.

"I don't find it hard to-" Annabeth was interrupted by Jason.

"Uh, actually Annabeth, I think in all fairness, pretty much only the Athena cabin really understands any of it." he said. Everyone shrugged in agreement. Chiron looked like he was thinking hard about this statement. "Hm. Mental note: Tell Connor that." said Travis. Everyone else nodded.

**Connor's POV**

"Now I just failed with this! Is... is it really possible to fail at everything but pranks?" Connor asked quietly. Drew sighed quietly. She sat down in a chair next to him. "Hey. I know it's weird coming from me, but, you're not a failure. Remember that time everyone was down about the party not going on? Who was it that made it happen?" said Drew.

"Me..." Connor whispered.

"Right. Remember Chiron's birthday celebration this year?"

"Um, Annabeth and them made that one happen."

"Uh... right. Oh! But who was it that brought the cake and decorations?"

"Jake and them."

"Really? Huh." Drew thought for a second. "Okay, that one was a bad example. But um... oh! Who's idea was it to get everyone to participate in the cultural fair when no one else wanted to at first?"

Connor sighed, but gave a small smile. "See? You're not a failure at _everything_. Oh hey, there he is. Just talk, it'll be fine." said Drew. She left a blushing Connor behind as Malcolm walked into the library looking for him. He suddenly realized that Drew had used her Charmspeak on him as he stood up. "U-uh M-Malcolm. Um..." he stuttered. Too bad the Charmspeak didn't help his stuttering issue. Malcolm finally noticed him and walked over. "I-I have something to- to t-tell you.`` said Connor.

"Me too." said Malcolm. "I-I um- AH! A SPIDER!" he screamed. Connor then noticed large spider on one side of the open dictionary. Both he and Malcolm reached for the book. Malcolm slammed the book shut squishing the spider, but Connor's hand rested on his.

**No One's POV**

There was silence as everyone stared angrily at Leo. The screen had once again gone black, this time, thanks to Malcolm. After about a second, all the demigods, plus Grover took this chance to smack Leo.

"Alright, alright! No bugs, _or_ spiders! Lesson learned okay?" he sighed. They all sighed and turned back to the blank screen. "Well? What now?" asked Leo.

"How about um, helping them out with the spider problem?" suggested Hermes. "I think they've had enough for the day." Everyone smiled and nodded. Leo pressed a button on the control panel.

**Malcolm's** **POV**

Malcolm and Connor stared at their hands. Neither of them moved. Malcolm cleared his throat that had gone dry. "U-um, did you know that it's really impossible to tell how many words dictionaries have? Uh, plus there's so many different meanings to different words like-" rambled Malcolm. _"Stop it Malcolm! You're ironically being stupid!"_ he thought. He surprisingly stopped his rambling and cleared his throat again. "Um... So, you were going to say something?" he said. He glanced at Connor, who cleared his throat.

"U-uhm, y-yeah. I uh..." Connor, who was blushing a deep red, finally looked at Malcolm. After a few seconds of silence, staring, and blushing, Connor suddenly did the unthinkable. He grabbed Malcolm by the shoulders and kissed him! Malcolm was certain that if Connor wasn't holding on to him, he'd collapse. After a few more seconds, they pulled back. Malcolm was speechless. But that obviously gave Connor the wrong idea.

He let go of Malcolm and began to back away. "Um- I- I'm sorry. T-that was stupid, I-I'm stupid." Connor said quickly. He turned towards the door of the library. "I-I'll just-" Malcolm suddenly snapped out of it, and quickly grabbed his hand.

"Connor wait!" he said. Connor froze, and reluctantly turned to look at him. Malcolm could instantly see a bit of fear in his eyes. He vowed never to let that happen again. "I'm so sorry for scaring you." he said. Connor's worried expression turned into a hopeful one. He stared up at Malcolm, (he was about a head shorter than him, but they didn't care,) with big blue eyes. Malcolm leaned down slightly and kissed him. After about a minute, they pulled apart for air.

"Oh, I guess we should get back to Mitchell..." sighed Malcolm. Connor shook his head.

"Nah, he'll be fine." he said with a smile. The two kissed again.

**Mitchell's POV**

Mitchell sighed and banged his head against the storage door. "Come on guys. Get together already. My legs are becoming jelly! Which is technically ironic coming from an ADHD kid..." he said to himself. Suddenly he heard a weird noise coming from inside the storage. He looked at the lock and debated whether or not to open and check it out. He decided to check it out. He unlocked the door and slowly opened it a creak. He looked inside.

"What the..." he said in awe.

The room was surprisingly not as messy as they thought it would be. Just loose papers on the floor- okay, the floor and walls needed a little help, but other than that...

Of course the weirdest part, was the fact that there was no giant spider anymore. Mitchell wasn't sure how it could have possibly escaped unless it didn't have any actual bones like an octopus. But that's impossible for a spider... right?

What the Hades just happened?

"Hey Mitchell, do you have the keys to the stables so I can clean- what in the Hades happened here?" asked Jake as he walked up to him. Mitchell handed him the keys he needed.

"Uh... nothing. Nothing at all. Don't worry about it." he said. Jake shrugged and started to head to the stables.

"Oh, uh, do you know where the cleaning stuff is?" he asked.

"It's in the closet."

"Thanks!"

**No One's POV**

"Okay, so explain to me one more time what you just did?" said Nico. Leo sighed. The gang was getting ready to leave Olympus. "Okay. I built a very well hidden trap door in the floor of the storage, and a tunnel that leads straight to Bunker 9. I mostly built it in case someone unwanted tried to get in the storage, but it works perfectly for giant robotic spiders as well. Now Aragog should be safe and sound in Bunker 9." said Leo. Jason gave him a weird look. Leo shrugged.

"Aragog? Really? Like from Harry Potter?" he said. Leo shrugged again.

"What else am I gonna call it?" he said. Jason just shrugged and the gang left for camp.

"_Well, looks like Luke and I have some questions to ask. Connor won't get away that easily."_ thought Travis. He smirked as the gang entered the elevator.

After a few hours of being stuffed in a car, the gang was finally back home. "Ah, welcome back guys." said Malcolm. He, Connor, Mitchell, and Frank were all there to welcome them back. They started helping them unload the vehicle. "Oh, hey where'd you guys go again?" asked Mitchell. Again, they only got a bunch of different answers.

"Las Vagas."

"Chicago."

"Canada?"

"San Diego."

"Baltimore..."

"Disney World."

"California."

"New Mexico?"

"Ohio..."

"Hawaii."

"Hazleton?"

"San Fransisco..."

"Virginia."

Everyone suddenly looked at Jason. "Hawaii for the weekend?" mocked Malcolm. Jason shrugged.

"It could happen..." he said. Everyone gave him a weird look. "Hey I'm not the one who said Canada or California." Percy and Nico shrugged it off.

"Uh, yeah. Next time agree on a place before going okay?" said Connor. They all nodded.

"So... how was your guy's weekend?" asked Travis. Connor eyed his brother suspiciously while Malcolm blushed a little.

"It was nothing much. Just the usual stuff." said Mitchell. He paused for a second. "Yeah nothing big happened... except Malcolm and Connor finally got together!" he said that last part very quickly and took off with Piper's luggage towards the cabins. He smiled as he glanced back to see the girls (minus Thalia, although she was smiling big,) squealing excitedly... and both Malcolm and Connor's faces were priceless!

**A/N**: See? It's about seven or four or five pages less than the last two chapters in my word processor. Much shorter. Anyways, a scene in this one is a reference to the Canadian TV show Corner Gas. If you've seen it, feel free to guess what it is! ;) (And no, I don't own that either.)

Oh, and I don't really know where Kayla grew up. I just picked that because of the name lol.

Well, R & R please! :D

...I guess I should work on my other stories now...


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